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THE 



HEROES OE EUROPE: 



§iagtagl}ical @i\t\m rf dBwrogean fistoxj 



FROM A. D. 700 TO A. D. 1700. 



By HENEY G. HEWLETT. 




" All history resolves itself very easily into the biography of a few stout and ear- 
nest persons." — Emerson's Essays on Self-ReKance. 



BOSTON: 
TICK NOR AND FIELDS 



M DCCC LXI. 



r 



^^0^ 

-^ ^^^ 



author's edition. 



"University Press, Cainbriiigo : 
\ Stereotyped and Priutcd by Welch, Bigelow, & Co. 



PREFACE. 



This work has been intended as a companion to 
Mr. J. G. Edgar's Heroes of England, The in- 
tention must serve as the Author's apology for 
his otherwise inexcusable omission of Englishmen. 
The plan and scope of the two volumes, however, 
are materially different, — Mr. Edgar confining 
himself to the biographies of " those heroes who, 
against the enemies of their country, have fought 
the battles of England at sea and on the land ; " 
while the Author of the present work has given a 
wider meaning to the word " Hero," and endeav- 
ored to furnish a biographical outline of European 
history from the eighth to the eighteenth century. 
With this aim, he has been influenced in his selec- 
tion of heroes less by a consideration of their per- 
sonal eminence, than of their representative value. 
Particular epochs, movements, and episodes have 



iv . PREFACE. 

thus been illustrated in a single sketch, and threads 
of connection preserved throughout the series. 
The lives of savans, artists, and men of letters, 
which it has been found impossible to connect 
with the history of any such general events, have 
been reluctantly omitted. The work being in- 
tended for popular use, explanations of technical 
terms, and translations of foreign words have been 
carefully supplied. While disavowing any pre- 
tensions to original research, the Author may be 
permitted to state that he has uniformly consulted 
the most trustworthy historians. 

Augiist 2d, 1860. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Introduction 1 

Charles Martel 6 

Pepin-le-Bref 13 

Charlemagne 19 

HiLDEBRAND . . .28 

The Cid 41 

Godfrey de Bouillon 49 

St. Bernard 71 

Frederick Barbarossa 82 

Frederick the Second of Germany .... 105 

St. Louis 124 

Eudolph of Hapsburg 141 

William Tell 150 

James and Philip Van Artevelde 160 

Cosmo dei Medici 172 

Francesco Sforza 193 

Christopher Columbus 211 

NiCCOLO Machiavelli 226 



vi CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The Chevalier Bayard 237 

Martin Luther . 254 

Hernando Cortes 267 

GusTAvus Vasa 293 

Ignatius Loyola 302 

William the First of Orange 308 

Henry the Fourth of France 318 

Wallenstein . ^-. 340 

Cardinal Richelieu : 350 

CoNDE THE Great 361 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Frontispiece. 

PAGB 

Election of Charles Martel 8V 

Coronation of Pepin . . . ' 14 

Charlemagne Dictating 22 

The Emperor Henry IV. before Hildebrand ... 36 

Crusaders Bivouacking 58 

Coronation of Frederick Barbarossa .... 88 

Blanche of Castile appealing to the Parisians . 128 

Ceremony of Knighting 140 

Interview of Edward III. with James Artevelde , 162 
Death of John of Bohemia at Cressy . . . .178 

Capture of Constantinople 208 

Bayard yielding to his own Prisoner .... 244 

Luther in his Study 260 

Surprise of Mons by Louis of Nassau . . . .312 

Battle of Ivry 334 

Finding of the Body of Gustavus Adolphus . . . 346 



THE 



HEROES OF EUROPE 



THE STATE OP EUROPE AT THE CLOSE OF THE SEV- 
ENTH CENTURY AFTER CHRIST. 

During the three centuries which elapsed from the 
commencement of the Christian era to the division of the 
Roman empire by Diocletian, the history of Europe is 
identical with that of Rome. The following three centu- 
ries and a half witnessed the gradual growth of the north- 
ern nations, resulting in the fall of the empire of the West 
and the decluie of that of the East, — a dechne still fur- 
ther augmented towards the close of the period by the 
sudden rise of the rehgious despotism of Mohammed in 
Asia. Weakened by the immensity of its extent, the 
excess of its military power, and the contrasting luxury 
and wretchedness attendant upon the unequal distribution 
of its wealth, the Western empire became less and less 
able to resist the tides of barbarian invasion which flowed 
in rapid succession from the North. The Goths were 
followed by the Huns ; the Huns by the Vandals and 
Heruli. In a. d. 476, Odoacer, king of the latter tribe, 
finally abolished the last vestige of empire. From the 

1 A 



2 INTRODUCTION. 

Heruli, the sceptre of Italy passed into the hand of the 
Eastern or Ostro-Goths, who, under the wise rule of The- 
odoric and his successors, for a brief space restored the 
ancient dignity of Rome. At the expiration of about 
half a century, the Eastern empire also, for as brief a 
sjDace, revived under the heroic influence of Belisarius, 
and Italy was reconquered from the Ostro-Goths. The 
invitation of a disgraced general, however, in 568, brought 
on a new invasion from the Lombards, a tribe from Pan- 
nonia. Gifted with strength, courage, and sagacity, this 
people retained for two centuries the northern provinces 
of Italy, Avhich it conquered. At the period when the 
present historical outline commences, the remaining dis- 
tricts of that country were nominally governed by the offi- 
cers of the Eastern empire, of whom the Bishop of Rome 
was the most distinguished and the least dependent. 

Passing from Italy to Greece, we find the emperors 
maintaining a precarious stand against the strange and 
formidable force which, in the space of less than a cen- 
tury, wrested from their grasp the richest provinces of 
Asia and ii^'ica. Mohammed, born at Mecca, in Arabia, 
in 569, amibunced himself in 609 as the apostle of a new 
creed. By the influence of his genius and enthusiasm, 
Arabia was soon converted from polytheism to the wor- 
ship of One God. The fire of fanaticism, once kindled, 
sj)read from thence over the whole East. The love of 
conquest allied itself with zeal for the faith ; and Khaled, 
Amroo, Omar, and the early caliphs, triumphantly bore 
the sword and the Koran into Persia, Syria, and Egypt. 
Though as yet Constantinople had been besieged without 
success, the fate of the Eastern empire was doomed. 



INTEODUCTION. 3 

The most important European nation during the sixth 
century was that of the Franks, a tribe which, originally 
springing from the Lower Rhine, had successively con- 
quered the petty states into which Gaul was then divided. 
Clovis, chief of the Salian Franks, from the close of the 
fifth to the early part of the sixth century, founded a 
powerful kingdom, embracing most of modern France 
and a large portion of Western Germany. Though suf- 
fering, at the period when our narrative opens, from the 
degradation of the original dynasty, it still preserved in 
itself a principle of Hfe. 

The condition of the rest of Europe at this time may 
be described in a few lines. Spain was still governed by 
the Western or Visi- Goths, who conquered it in the fifth 
century ; but their rule was falling into decay, and was 
on the eve of being snatched from them by the Moham- 
medan conquerors of Africa. The Saxons occupied West- 
phalia and part of Saxony ; the Frisii, the Low Countries ; 
the Sclavonians, Bohemia; the Huns, Pannonia. Scan- 
dinavia was peopled by a hardy Gothic race, which, under 
the various names of Norsemen, Swedes, D^es. Norwe- 
gians, &c., made itself feared throughout the North of 
Europe. Russia, inhabited by rude tribes of Sclavonic 
and Gothic origin, had as yet no true history. Our own 
country, under the Saxon Heptarchy, had no unity or 
constitution. 

The state of religion, although still unsettled, was in 
progress of reduction into one form. Catholic Christian- 
ity, so called, — viz. the doctrine prescribed by the Coun- 
cil of Nice m 325, — was professed by the Eastern empe- 
rors and their subjects, real or nominal. The Bishop of 



4: INTRODUCTION. 

Rome, as the alleged successor of St. Peter, had for some 
time arrogated to himself a supremacy over other bishops, 
and his pretensions to be the fount of Catholic doctrine 
were gradually obtaining ground. The adoption of Ca- 
tholicism by the Frank monarchs gave it the ascendency 
in Christian Europe. The tenets of Arius (who, in the 
fourth century, taught that the Second Person of the 
Trinity was of inferior nature to the First) were, how- 
ever, still held by the Lombards. The Visi-Goths of 
Spain, and the Saxons of England, were Christianized ; 
but Germany, Scandinavia, and the remaining countries 
of Europe, save in a few scattered districts, were wrapt 
in Paganism. 

The love of a contemplative and devotional life, which 
had manifested itself early in the history of Christianity, 
was still strong in Europe. The most illustrious monas- 
tic order was that of St. Benedict, established in the pre- 
ceding century, and which, from its wise regulations for 
the government of the body as well as of the mind, was 
destined to exert a permanent and beneficial influence 
within the limited scope of its sway. The monasteries 
were the chief, if not the sole hiding-places of learning, 
which was restricted to the smallest possible compass in 
Europe at this era. Within the countries which had 
formed part of the Roman empire Latin was still spoken, 
but in a mixed and corrupt shape, which was gradually 
assuming the modern forms of Italian, French, Spanish, 
&c. The' common art of writing was a rare accomplish- 
ment among the clergy, and the highest men of rank 
among the laity were seldom able to read. The fine 
arts, also, were scantily cultivated, their only seat of de- 



INTRODUCTION. 5 

sign being the metropolis of the Eastern empire ; whence 
the Byzantine architecture and painting, then prevalent 
throughout Europe, derived their name. The state of 
society, both as to morality and manners, was in keeping 
with the political and religious condition above described. 
Those general princijDles of justice and honor, which 
everywhere govern mankind in a greater or less degree, 
preserved the social fabric from ruin ; but this compara- 
tive order was not inconsistent with the frequent exhibi- 
tion of barbarian violence and crime. 

Such is the condition of Europe towards the close of 
the seventh century after Christ, — a condition of semi- 
civilization ; whence it is difficult to see which nation will 
be the first to emerge. The first step forward proves to 
be taken by France, — a country which, with all its short- 
comings, has, from that era to the present, been ever dis- 
tinguished in the vanguard of human progress. 



€\mh Partel. 



CHRISTIANITY AND MOHAMMEDANISM IN EUROPE. 

Towards the close of the seventh century of our era, 
the kingdom wliich we now name France was peopled 
by a half-barbarous, professedly Christian race, of mixed 
tribes, the ruling portion of which originally sprang from 
Germany. The Frankish kingdom, as it was called, had 
risen upon the ruins of the Homan empire, and for about 
a century was remarkable for the ability of its sovereigns. 
But after the death of King Dagobert I. in A. d. 638, the 
royal family seemed devoid of any mental or moral 
strength whatsoever, and the kings of this line have been 
always known as faineans, — weak idlers. The real pow- 
er of the government was held by a succession of chief 
officers of the household, styled " Mayors of the Palace." 
The most distinguished of these noblemen was Pepin 
d'Heristal, who, from the year 688 to his death in 715, 
was virtually king of France, — the nominal sovereigns 
being but puppets in his hands. The country was then 
divided into two great districts, — the eastern, known as 
Austrasia ; and the western, as Neustria. At his death 
Pepin left the reins of government to his grandson, The- 
odebald, an infant under the guardianship of his mother, 
Plectrude. The lawful king, Dagobert III., was also a 



CHARLES MARTEL. 7 

child. It was clear that a fierce race of warriors required 
a strong arm to keep them in check, and could not long 
brook an infant's sway. The Neustrians commenced the 
revolt by expeUing Theodebald and his mother, and 
choosing for their ruler a Mayor of the Palace named 
iiaginfred. They then attacked Austrasia, which had 
not joined in the revolt. It was without fitting defences, 
and had no able man to direct its resistance against this 
assault. "What course should the Austrasians take ? Pe- 
pin, as we have said, left the government of France to a 
grandson ; but he had a natural son, Charles, then in the 
flower of liis youth. Whether on account of his not hav- 
ing been born in wedlock, or his having ojQTended Pepm 
by some misconduct, Charles had been slighted, and even 
hated, by his father, who banished him to a monastery at 
Cologne, far from the intrigues of statecraft and the tu- 
mult of war. " Here," said the Austrasians, " is the like- 
liest man for our leader ; a son of the wisest and fiimest 
ruler the kingdom has yet acknowledged." It was agreed, 
therefore, by the people, that he should be invited to come, 
and a summons was sent from Metz, the then capital of 
the district, to the cloister at Cologne. Young and brave, 
pining in uncongenial society, and debarred from the em- 
ployment of his talents, Charles seized this opportunity of 
release. Eagerly accepting the invitation, he hastened to 
return with the messengers, and soon, amidst the shouts 
of the dehghted Austrasians, put himself at their head, 
under the title of Duke. The family of Pepui was not 
royal, and Charles doubtless saw the wisdom of yielding 
to the popular reverence for the ancient race of kmgs. 
The Neustrians had the same prejudice; and, accordingly, 



8 CHAKLES MARTEL. 

while Charles in the one district, and Raginfred in the 
other, virtually governed, their respective tools were Clo- 
thaire IV., king of Austrasia, and Chilperic II., king of 
Neustria, two descendants of the old dynasty. These 
events took place in a. d. 716. 

The two countries now prepared for war. The Franks 
of Neustria were not so thoroughly and habitually war- 
like as their brethren of Austrasia, whose military system 
was better developed, in consequence of their position 
near the Rhine continually exposing them to conflicts 
with bands of Germans, which crossed the river in hopes 
of conquest. Nevertheless, the Austrasian Franks were 
now at a disadvantage, by reason of the unprepared state 
in wliich the Neustrian attack found them. Charles and 
Raginfred collected each an army, and marched at its 
head. The encounter was for some time doubtful, but 
the Neustrians gained a considerable advantage in the 
first campaign, and Charles was obhged to seek an asy- 
lum in the forests of the Ardennes region. Here, how- 
ever, he did not long remain in concealment. Issumg 
forth at the head of a fresh body of men, he came upon 
the Neustrian army by surprise. A feai'ful slaughter 
took place, which he followed up by a vigorous pursuit. 
The Neustrians made a stand at Vincy, near Cambray. 
Charles met them here, and after a gallant struggle com- 
pletely routed the force of Raginfred. This victory de- 
cided the fate of Neustria, and the crown of both countries 
was, in the year 719, placed on the head of Chilperic 11. 
Either from motives of policy or of generosity, Charles 
did not abuse his success by the punishment of his rival, 
Raginfred, on whom he conferred the earldom and prov- 



•■^o 



f"^^ 



r 




CHARLES MARTEL. 9 

iiice of Anjou. He himself was content to remain sole 
Major of the Palace, under a show of obedience to a 
powerless king. 

A brave, iron-willed man, this Charles Martel appears 
to us, — dimly as the light of historic tradition permits us 
to behold him. He made his army the sole engine of his 
l^ower, and cultivated it to the fullest extent then possible 
to him. Even the Church was not able to resist him ; 
and at his pleasure he seized on benefices which he 
deemed too important to be placed in priestly hands, and 
bestowed them on his warriors. A rebellion among the 
nobles of Aquitaine demanded his attention ; and thither 
he marched with ruthless determination, stemming revolt 
and establishing order. But he had a work to do in his 
generation far more important to Europe than any he 
had yet performed. 

The Arab tribes, which in the last century had been 
converted, by the genius of Mohammed, from idolatry to 
the worship of God, and from lawless bandits into disci- 
plined soldiers, were at this period pursuing their career 
of religious conquest into the heart of Christendom. The 
Gothic monarchy of Spain, under its last king, Roderick, 
had fallen beneath the invading force, which now threat- 
ened France. The Duchy of Aquitaine, which consid- 
ered itself independent of France, but which Charles had 
reduced to comparative submission, opposed the only 
barrier to Arabian aggression. Eudes (or Eudin), then 
Duke, was a gallant prince, and did all that in him lay to 
resist the claim which the new lords of Spain asserted to 
his province of Septimania (Languedoc). He defeated 
one invading army before Toulouse in the year 721 ; but 
1* 



10 • CHARLES M ARTEL. 

the tide of invasion still flowed in. He then tried intrigue, 
and bestowed his daughter on Musa, a revolted general 
of the great Arabian leader, Abd-er-rahman. But all was 
in vain. In 732 the Moslem once more appeared, in tre- 
mendous force, all over the South of France, ravaging as 
they came, finally besieging Ai'les, and defeating its re- 
lieving army. 

The wives and children of the invaders followed in 
their train, as though they intended to settle in the coun- 
try. Abd-er-rahman was advancing yet further on his 
victorious way, when Eudes, as a last resource, applied 
for aid to his enemy, Charles. What were personal en- 
mities now? This common, national danger must be 
averted at all hazards. So thought Eudes when he sent 
to Charles. So thought Charles when he quickly sum- 
moned an army, and marched towards the plains between 
Poitiers and Tours, where the Arabs were quartered. 
The importance of the struggle that ensued cannot well 
be over-estimated. Christianity and Mohammedanism 
were at issue for the possession of Europe. The difficul- 
ties that lay in the way of the success of Charles were 
very great. The Ai-abs were animated with the fanati- 
cal zeal of a new faith, and a greedy desire of domina- 
tion. The Franks, on the other hand, were probably not 
at all conscious of, or concerned for, the rehgious interests 
wdiich were at stake, and aimed at no more than a vigor- 
ous rebuff of an unprovoked assault. They had the ad- 
vantage of familiarity with the country and chmate ; but 
were outmatched, beyond comparison, in numbers. The 
old monkish chroniclers tell us that the battle lasted seven 
days. The Arab army was mainly composed of cavahy 



CHAELES MAETEL. 11 

and bowmen, and the Franks suffered greatly from the 
charges of the former and the unerring shots of the latter. 
But on the seventh day the combatants closed with each 
other. Heavily fell the iron hands of the sturdy Franks 
upon the sinewy, but slender frames, of their Asiatic op- 
ponents. Nevertheless, Charles had no cavalry ; and the 
swift steeds of Arabia, with their daring riders, trampled 
down his battalions. Suddenly, there was a cry in the 
rear of the Moslem army that the infidels were spoihng 
the camp. More eager to save their treasure than to 
slay their foes, the Ai^abs turned in this direction. Skil- 
fully interpreting the movement as a flight, Charles 
cheered on his men to pursue. The crisis was ftital to 
Abd-er-rahman. He tried to rally his cavalry. It was 
too late ; and he fell, pierced through with many a Frank- 
ish spear. The incredible number of 30,000 Arabs is said 
to have fallen in this memorable defeat. The remainder 
fled through Aquitaine before the avenging sword of 
Charles. Well was he named " Martel," from the ham- 
mer-hke might of his good arm ! Who can say whether 
France and Germany, ay, England and all Europe, might 
not at this hour be sunk in such poverty and degradation 
of moral and intellectual life as Turkey now exhibits, had 
Chai'les Martel and his bold Franks fought less valiantly 
and enduringly at Tours ? 

History tells us but little more of Charles. He carried 
his arms into the Netherlands, conquered the Frisians and 
other tribes which then dwelt there, made them Christians 
by force, and vassals of the Frankish crown. In Saxony, 
and other parts of Germany also, his power was feared 
and obeyed. Pope Gregory II. offered to transfer to him 



12 CHAELES MAETEL. 

the allegiance clue from Rome to the Greek emperor, but 
the scheme was ended by the death of Charles. After 
the decease of King Chilperic II., in 720, Thierry IV. 
reigned in the same feeble manner as the other kings of 
his degenerate race. On his death, in 736, the people did 
not care to appoint a successor, being satisfied with the 
government which Charles continued to exercise under 
the title of " Duke of the Franks." He died in 741, at 
the age of forty-seven, leaving the monarchy to his three 
sons, P^pin, Carloman, and GrifFo. Of the elder of these, 
we shall hear more anon. Charles Martel is the first 
hero who succeeded in stamping his image upon the sur- 
face of European history, after the chaos of the broken 
Roman empire had in some measure yielded to the spirit 
of order. He was chieftain of an unruly tribe, rather than 
king of a settled state. In this light we must regard him, 
if we would judge his character fairly ; and thus consid- 
ered, he may be said to have governed France wisely and 
well. If his memory cannot be cleared from the reproach 
of certain deeds of violence, we can afford to pardon him 
when we remember the good service that his strong ham- 
mer once wrought for Europe. 



iit-Ie-lrei 



THE CARLOYINGIAN DYNASTY OF FRANCE. 

Charles Martel, as we have seen, was never king 
of the Franks, and his sons were too politic to assume the 
title on liis death. Griffo, the third son, may be dismissed 
from our notice at once, as he was from the government 
of the kingdom ; his brothers, Carloman and Pepin, tak- 
ing advantage of his weakness to dispossess him. After 
this act of supremacy they were for some time content to 
act as Mayors of the Palace, in the districts of Neustria 
and Austrasia respectively, under the nominal sovereignty 
of Childeric III., the last of ih.e, faineant kings whom they 
set up as a puppet. Carloman distinguished himself by 
attacking the Saxons and other tribes which threatened 
aggression ; and in 744 Pepin severely punished a revolt 
of his father's old enemy (Eudes, duke of Aquitaine), 
who, as already stated, had been compelled to do homage 
to the Prankish crown. P^pin soon had no sharer in his 
power or fame. Carloman was not made for a soldier, 
and, under the sudden impulse of devotional feeling, re- 
signed his office in 747, and retired into a Roman mon- 
astery. 

Pepin, thus left sole lord of France, did not hastily 
attempt to cut prejudice against the grain. Feeling his 



14 PEPIN-LE-BEEF. 

way gradually, he sounded popular opinion, for three 
years, on the subject of changing the royal dynasty, and 
placing the crown on the head of one who had a good 
right arm to defend it. Finding himself strong enough 
at last to take decided measures, he quietly dethroned 
Childeric III. ; and shaving off his long hair, the symbol 
of royalty among the early Frankish kings, sent him to 
one monastery at St. Omer, and his son Thierry to an- 
other at Fontenelle. This accomplished, Pepin proceeded 
to obtain justification for his acts from the Pope. This 
was a novel step ; for although the Bishops of Pome had 
great spiritual influence over Christendom, in virtue of 
their alleged descent from St. Peter, their temporal au- 
thority was by no means admitted out of their own dio- 
cese. Pepin was a wise man in his generation, though 
short-sighted as far as posterity was concerned. He saw 
clearly enough that no sanction which he could obtain for 
liis acts was likely to be so binding upon the minds of his 
subjects, and the world at large, as that pronounced by a 
power which had already fastened its yoke on the soul 
and conscience. The Pope, Zachariah, was not insensi- 
ble to the importance of the Frankish monarchy, being at 
the time of Pepin's accession especially in need of help 
against Astolpho, king of the Lombards, who threatened 
to seize on the Eternal City itself. When, therefore, 
Pepin's envoys arrived at Rome, and conveyed their 
master's application, the pontiff did not hesitate to answer 
that it was truly fitting for one to be king in name who 
was king in deed. Thus fortified against opposition, Pe- 
pin proceeded to fulfil all the ceremonies attaching to the 
kingly dignity. He and his queen (Bertrada) were duly 



PEPIN-LE-BREF. 15 

crowned and consecrated by Boniface, the " Apostle of 
Germany," and Bishop of Mainz. This rite was per- 
formed at Soissons in 752, with all the pomp that the 
Jewish kings had been wont to employ on such occasions. 
The national assembly was summoned ; and in the pres- 
ence of the great Frank nobles Boniface produced a vial 
of oil, announcing it as that which had fallen from heaven 
on the day when the first king of the Franks (Clovis) 
had received baptism. The sacred oil was then poured 
upon the head of Pepin ; and amid the acclamations of 
nobles, soldiers, and peasants, he was crowned their king. 
He was a man, Hke his father, well fitted to rule over a 
warlike and rude people. What was most admired in a 
king at that period was personal courage, and, what was 
most needed, strength of will. Pepin had both ; but he 
had one defect, which, though to us it may seem a trifle, 
to men who prized the body far more than soul or mind, 
was a serious matter. He was of small stature, and ac- 
quired the name of ''le Bref" in consequence. Fully 
conscious that this was a disadvantage to him, — and, in- 
deed, hearing his name once derided by his courtiers, — 
Pepin took a speedy opportunity of proving that what he 
lacked in height he more than made up in strength and 
bravery. It was common in those days to exhibit animal- 
fights at the Prankish court, as indeed, to her shame be 
it spoken, is common in Spain to tliis day. On one of 
these occasions a lion and a bull were engaged in a sav- 
age and mortal struggle. Pepin and his courtiers were 
seated round the arena looking on, when suddenly the 
king started up, and cried : " Who will dare to separate 
those beasts?" There was a dead silence. The at- 



16 PEPIN-LE-BREF. 

tempt was madness, — certain destruction. Unsheatliing 
his sword, and glancing scornfully round upon his cour- 
tiers, Pepin leapt into the arena, and drew the attention 
of the combatants upon himself Raging with fury, they 
turned to attack him ; but with cool and measured steps 
he evaded their onset, and by a succession of well-aimed 
blows struck off one by one the heads of lion and bull. 
Then, throwing down his streaming sword, he accosted 
the astonished courtiers, " Am I worthy to be your 
king ? " A deafening shout was the reply, and the name 
of " Pepin the Short " was no longer a term of derision 
but of honor. 

Having thus established his reputation for those qual- 
ities which were most essential to his influence, Pepin 
took measures to render it permanent by acts of wisdom 
and liberality. He frequently called together the na- 
tional assembhes, and included in the summons bishops 
as well as chieftains. Consulting with them as to the 
most prudent course of action, he preserved their affec- 
tion to his person and obedience to his orders. He espe- 
cially courted the favor of the Church, and showed his 
gratitude for the sanction which Pope Zachariah had 
given to his accession by assisting the next pope, Ste- 
phen HI., in a serious contest which broke out in 753 
with the Lombards. Their king Astolpho took an active 
part in the great religious quarrel which then agitated 
Christendom with respect to the worship of images, es- 
pousing the cause of the image-breakers, wliile Pope 
Stephen supported the opposite side. Threatened with 
invasion, the Pope flew to the court of Pepin, who re- 
ceived him with much reverence, and in return was 



PEPIN-LE-BREF. 17 

crowned king for the second time. Stephen even pro- 
nounced sentence of excommunication against all who 
should dare to choose a king of France from any other 
than Pepin's family. At the Pope's request the King 
assembled an army, and marched against Astolpho. The 
war lasted for two years, but eventually terminated in 
the success of Pepin, who compelled Astolpho to yield 
up to the Pope the exarchate of Ravenna, the last relic 
of the great Roman empire in Italy, and of which the 
Lombards had deprived the Eastern emperors. 

Pepin, however, had in view a more national war than 
this. The duchy of Aquitaine was perpetually in a state 
of resistance to the authority of the Prankish kings. 
This was owing in some measure, to the difference of 
language and civilization which prevailed betw^een the 
people of the duchy and those of the kingdom. A spirit 
of hostility was also fostered by the increase of popula- 
tion which Aquitaine obtained from the Gascons, a tribe 
from the Pyrenees, not subject to the Franks. After a 
long period of uncertain warfare, Pepin determined to 
decide the struggle by active operations. He accord- 
ingly, in 759, took advantage of a rismg of the people 
of Septimania against their Arabian rulers. He made 
himself master of Narbonne and other towns, and freed 
the Septimanians. Then turning upon Guaifer, duke 
of Aquitaine, he summoned him to disgorge the spoils 
which he had seized from the Aquitanian lands of cer- 
tain churches of France. Guaifer replied in defiant 
terms, and for nine years resisted the attempts of Pepin 
to reduce him to submission. It was a sanguinary and 
desolating war. The fairest districts of Auvergne, Li- 

B 



18 PEPIN-LE-BEEF. 

mousin, and Berry, were laid waste and burnt by Pepin ; 
and in the Frankish territories Guaifer levied an equally 
terrible retribution. He was murdered at last by liis own 
subjects, and Aquitaine was annexed to the kingdom. 

This was Pepin's last and most important achievement. 
He did not, as we might have expected he would, die in 
harness on the battle-field, but of dropsy, at the age of 
fifty-four. This event occurred in 768, at St. Denis. 
Long before his death he had obtained the coronation of 
his two sons, Charles and Carloman, jointly with his own, 
and directed his territories to be divided between them. 

To be the successful founder of a new dynasty de- 
mands a geniu-s which we may justly entitle heroic, ex- 
pressive as that word is of strength of character merely, 
without regard to moral worth. Pepin, however, was 
not devoid of the latter, to a limited extent, and has left 
a memory which, if not remarkable for virtue, is at least 
not disfigured by vice. 



Cljaiienragnt. 



THE PRANKISH EMPIRE OF THE WEST. 

The common remark that gi'eat men have no sons — 
founded upon very superficial observation, and offending 
the natural probability, that genius is inheritable like 
any other human quahty — meets with a striking con- 
tradiction in the case of Charlemagne, the third, if not 
the fourth, of a family of heroes. 

Charles, as his real name was, — " Magne," or Great, 
being added as a title of honor, — succeeded on the death 
of his father to the western half of his dominions only ; 
Carloman, the second son, ruhng in the east. After a 
brief junction of their forces to put down a revolt in 
Aquitaine, the brothers quarrelled. The death of Car- 
loman, however, in 770, prevented an internal war. 
Charles forcibly seized upon his brother's inheritance, 
and his nephews flew to Lombardy. He now reigned 
alone over a large and imposing territory, stretchmg in 
influence, if not in extent, from Holland to Spain, and 
from Bohemia to the northern limits of France. But he 
projected a far wider empire even than this, and, either 
from zeal for rehgion, or love of power, — probably from 
both motives combined, — set himself to conquer the bar- 
barian and heretical nations on either side of him. To 



20 CHAKLEMAGNE. 

the southeast were the Arian Lombards ; to the northeast 
the Pagan Frisians, and Saxons ; to the southwest the 
Moslem Arabs. The CathoHc Church must first be freed 
from the gaUing insults which the heresy and arrogance 
of the Lombard monarchy inflicted on the Papal See. 
At the prayer of Pope Adrian L, Charles crossed the 
Alps, and marched against the Lombard king Desiderius, 
or Didier. Resisted in vain by the mountaineers of the 
passes and the garrison of Pavia, which held out for two 
years, Charles finally entered that city, and took the king 
prisoner ; extinguishing the Lombards as a nation forever. 
After this success the conqueror visited Rome. Splendid, 
indeed, was the pomp of his triumphal entry. At a dis- 
tance of thirty miles from the city he was met by the 
chief nobles and officers with banners. The path was 
lined with men of all the nations which acknowledged 
the authority of the Pope or the Greek Emperor. 
Bands of children chanted the victor's fame in chorus, 
and preceded him with branches of olive and palm. 
Arrived at the Yatican, he prostrated himself before his 
spiritual lord, and kissed each step of the palace stairs. 
But although thus humble in outward seeming, Charles 
was inwardly ambitious, and looked forward to the pos- 
session of a dominion with which the Pope could not 
presume to compete. 

He turned next upon the Saxons, who had rejected 
with violence a mission which he sought to force upon 
their acceptance in 770. For thirty years these small 
repubhcs struggled against the oppression of his despotic 
will. Under a warrior named Witikind they perpetually 
revolted, but with ever unavailing courage. After a de- 



CHARLEMAGNE. 21 

cislve campaign Charles transported large numbers of the 
conquered race to other districts, but permitted to those 
Avho remained the exercise of their own laws, and even 
the government of their own chieftains. 

In Spain he was less successful, though his conquests 
Avere considerable. A dispute between two leading Arab 
families led to his being invited to interfere. Electing 
to support the cause of the family whose territories were 
at the greatest distance, he crossed tlie Pyrenees, drove 
the Ai-abs beyond the Ebro, and then subjugated parts 
of Navarre and other Christian states, v,diich he annexed 
to the Frankish throne. One great battle, however, he 
is said to have lost there, — famous in romance as that 
of Roncesvalles, — where Roland, one of his mightiest 
chiefs or paladins, was slain. 

In Hungary, Pepin, the son of Charles, was victorious 
over the Avari ; a bold race of horsemen, who had for 
years despoiled the East of treasures, which they guarded 
in strong camps, called ringes. On these Pepin seized, 
and carried the spoil to his father in triumph. 

A second boon conferred on the Pope (now Leo 
III.), in 800, namely, his restoration to the Papal Chair, 
whence a conspiracy of his own clergy had driven him, 
called for the highest reward which his gratitude could 
bestow on Charles. The conqueror again visited Rome, 
and on Christmas-day attended the great Cathedral of 
St. Peter to worship. As he knelt in prayer, the Pope 
came to his side, and placed on his head the crown of the 
Western Empire. And at the same moment the walls 
echoed to an universal shout of " Life and victory to 
Charles, the most pious Augustus, crowned by God the 



22 CHAELEMAGNE. 

great and peaceful Emperor of the Romans!" Thus 
was Rome severed from her connection with the eastern 
empire of Greece ; a new western empire founded ; and 
the ambition of Charles acliieved. 

His dominion extended east and west between the 
rivers Ebro and Elbe, and from the river Eyder, the 
frontier line of Germany and Denmark, on the north, to 
the diichy of Benevento in Italy, on the south. His 
title of Emperor of the West was acknowledged by the 
Eastern Emperor, Nicephorus, and the boundaries of the 
two territories were fixed between them. As an instance 
of the vanity which Charles displayed on his accession 
to this honor, it is related that when the Greek ambas- 
sadors arrived they were conducted into a majestic hall, 
wherein was a man so superbly dressed, and seated on 
so rich a chair, that they concluded he must be the Em- 
peror, and fell on their knees. The man rose, however, 
announcing that he was but Master of the Horse to the 
Emperor ; whereupon the ambassadors, deeply impressed 
with the dignity of a king possessing such subjects, pro- 
ceeded to the next hall. Here they prostrated them- 
selves before another and yet more gorgeously dressed 
personage, on a grander throne, but were again entreated 
to rise, — the object of their adoration being but an offi- 
cer of state. In two more rooms this illusion was re- 
peated, until the wonder of the strangers was sufficiently 
excited, and they became overwhelmed with awe at the 
sight of Charles himself, in the last apartment to which 
they were sliown, seated on a throne as costly, and sur- 
rounded with a pomp as magnificent, as any to which 
they had been accustomed at the Court of Constant!- 



■'r 



( 







I .1 






Wf \ 



Ul 



i'"/K'«rf. ^ 




\--v \- \ \ 



CHARLEMAGNE. 23 

nople. This may liave been politic aiieetation, rather 
than vanity, on the part of Charles, who dressed very 
j^lainly on ordinary occasions, in the fashion of his poorer 
subjects, and was simple and temperate in diet. His pri- 
vate hfe in other particulars will not bear strict scrutiny, 
being disfigured by the usual vices of his time and posi- 
tion. Yet, though his character was flawed, he has a 
great name in spite of it. It should always be remem- 
bered that, while a conqueror, he was far more. He was 
perhaps the most influential civilizer that the world ever 
knew. Whatever selfish motives may have prompted his 
pohcy, it resulted in schemes the most wise and benefi- 
cent. Stern and cruel, after the fashion of his age, in 
effecting his conquests, he was hberal far beyond his 
fellows in his method of governing the conquered. Like 
Alexander the Great, he attempted to make no rash 
changes in the constitution or laws of a people which he 
subdued. In one point, however, he differed from the 
Macedonian conqueror, who allowed the existence of 
every variety of creed in his vast dominions, whereas 
Charles made the adoption of Christianity an essential 
mark of obedience to his authority. It was his scheme 
to make a common faith the main tie of union between 
the various and dissimilar nations which acknowledged 
liim as king. He accordingly parcelled out each con- 
quered provmce into bishoprics, and estabhshed numer- 
ous monasteries and schools. Although regulating his 
empire according to the despotic principles of the feudal 
system (into the nature of which we shall elsewhere in- 
quire), he endeavored to insure the permanence of his 
rule by allowing his people the right of self-government 



24 CHAKLEMAGNE. 

to a limited extent. With this view he summoned na- 
tional assembhes, which included, not the nobles and 
clergy only, but also a certain number of persons chosen 
by each province to represent itself. These assemblies 
discussed the laws, which were afterwards affirmed by 
the Emperor's wiU. Literature and art were not neg- 
lected in his plan of government, although he himself 
was but scantily educated. He favored learned men of 
all nations, and gave generous encouragement to art, es- 
pecially that of architecture. His anxiety to diffuse 
learning was shown by the personal attention which he 
gave to the progress of the schools which he set on foot. 
It is told of him that he thus addressed the pupils of a 
school which was founded in his own palace, and num- 
bered among its members the sons of many leading men in 
the country : " Being rich, and sons of the first men in my 
realm, you think birth and wealth are sufficient, and these 
studies needless which would honor you in their pursuit. 
You care only for dress, play, and amusement. But I 
swear that I count as nothing the rank and riches for the 
sake of which you are reverenced, and that unless you 
quickly make up by hard work the time which you have 
wasted in trifling, you need never look for any boon at 
the hands of Charles." 

A better stimulus to industry than threat or promise — 
as one may fancy — must have been the stately presence 
and solemn voice of the mighty Emperor to the trem- 
bling students. 

How was it, then, — prudently and carefully as Charles 
planned and ruled, — that his schemes failed ; and the 
vast empire, which he had toiled to unite, broke up at his 



CHARLEMAGNE. 25 

death ? The empire was too vast ; the work too difficult. 
The nations which he subdued were reduced by force, 
not inchnation. The changes which he made in their 
faith were sudden, not graduah The magnet of his 
genius kept the huge framework of his dominions to- 
gether while he Hved ; but the attraction once removed, 
the whole fell asunder. 

Lasting .changes are effected in nature and history by 
calm and slow processes. Man, however mighty, in vain 
attempts to hasten the speed of the Almighty's mechan- 
ism, in the turning of the minutest wheel. 

The symptoms of decay showed themselves in the 
lifetime of Charles. The national assemblies were not 
appreciated by the people, for whose advantage they 
were intended. They grudged the time and expense re- 
quisite to attend meetings of which they were too httle 
civihzed to perceive the value. The military service 
and taxes, enjoined by the great capitulars, or ordinances 
of Charles, however essential to the well-being of the 
State, were burdensome to individuals, and the encroach- 
ments of the nobles and the clergy increased the distress 
of the people. Added to these internal disorders, came 
attacks from without. Pirate bands of Norsemen per- 
petually harassed the coasts of the empire, and demanded 
the strictest vigilance and the strongest defences to pre- 
vent invasion. On one occasion, when Charles was resi- 
dent in a town in the south of France, a vessel of Norse 
freebooters ventured to enter the harbor. The Emperor 
stood by a window to watch them, as they fled from the 
pursuit of his officers, and wept as he gazed. Observ- 
ing the surprise of his nobles, he turned and said ; — 
2 



26 CHAELEMAGNE. 

" Do ye not know wherefore I weep, friends ? It is 
not, verily, that I fear the harm which these robbers can 
do me, but I am deeply grieved to see how, even while I 
live, they dare to come so near; and am troubled to 
think of the evil which they will do to my successors 
and their people." 

These disappointments, together with the loss of his 
two eldest sons, preyed upon the mind of Charles during 
his declining years. Though a tall, broad-shouldered 
man, of great natural strength, he sank into such help- 
lessness, that he could not move unassisted. He retired 
from the duties of government during the last year of 
his life ; occupymg his thoughts in devotion and his la- 
bors in charity. Towards the close he became utterly 
prostrate, for many days taking nothing but water as 
nourishment. 

On the 28th January, 814, at the age of seventy-one, 
the great conqueror, after signing with his hand a figure 
of the cross, and uttering, ".Into thy hands I commend 
my spirit," breathed his last. 

They buried him in the cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle, 
clothed in his emperor's robes, crowned and girt with his 
sword. His sceptre and shield lay at his feet ; and 
beside him a Bible and a purse, which he had carried 
after the manner of a pilgrim during his journeys to 
Rome. His tomb has been rifled; but the name of 
Charlemagne may yet be read on the cathedral pave- 
ment. 

The pages of history will forever preserve the same 
name. Great Charles truly was, both in grasp of mind 
and vigor of action. Though his empire, as a whole, fell 



CHAELEMAGNE. 27 

with him, its ruin did not result in anarchy, nor did any 
relapse into barbarism occur among the nations which he 
had civilized. The principles of life and stability yet 
remained in the broken members, and the present par- 
tition of central Europe may be said to have originated 
with the dissolution of his Empire of the West. 



iiMranJr* 



PAPAL SUPREMACY. 



We have seen the Bishops of Rome, under their title 
of Universal Fathers, or Popes, taking a prominent part 
m pohtics, and extending their originally spiritual empire 
to temporal domination also. This was gradually obtained 
by the encroachments of successive Popes, not without 
resistance on the part of the states whose power was thus 
dimmished. Charlemagne, though a devoted son of the 
Church, was by no means its slave, and while he lived 
the Papal See was governed by his influence. On the 
dissolution of his empu-e, however, the interests of the 
kingdoms which were formed out of it frequently clashed 
with those of Eome. Throughout the middle ages, in- 
deed, a contest for supremacy between the Popes and the 
Emperors of Germany raged mcessantly. It was an un- 
equal fight. The Church in those days held the exclu- 
sive possession of learning, and offered the highest prizes 
of rank and power to candidates, as well of the humblest 
as of the noblest birth. It claimed, moreover, the direct 
sanction of God for its authority: against its decrees in 
matters of religion there was no earthly appeal, and ex- 
communication from its pale was held to deprive the 
smner of the bhss of heaven. To these immense forces 



HILDEBKAND. 29 

tlie mightiest emperor could only oppose an army — 
brave, yet superstitious — the very generals of which 
were ignorant, unlettered men, however naturally gifted. 
Brute strength might, and often did, j^revail over intellect 
for a time ; but victory was certain to the owner of the 
best weapon. A duel between two men, one armed with 
a rifle and the other with a mace, can have but one ter- 
mination. 

During the eleventh century, however, this contest was 
in process of action. Italy was in an unsettled state, and 
a succession of weak or profligate Popes had disgraced 
the See, which was bought and sold by the Emperors of 
Germany and the Marquises of Tusculum, as one or the 
other got the upper hand. The same disorder prevailed 
in France, where bishoprics were disposed of by the 
kings and nobles at their pleasure. The people, thus 
deprived of that humane shelter which the Church had 
afforded from the oppression of their lords, were ground 
down to slavery. A fii*m arm was needed to restore the 
dignity of the clergy and depress the tyranny of the 
nobles, and at the appointed time it was uplifted. 

Early in the eleventh century, Hildebrand, the son of 
a Tuscan carpenter, was dedicated to the vows of a monk 
in the convent of Cluny, in Burgundy. The youth was 
thoughtful, pious, and staid, — devoted to the duties of 
his calling, zealous in study, and rigid in self-discipline. 
He soon acquired a high reputation in the convent, and 
on his departure for Rome carried with him such testi- 
monials as secured him a welcome reception. Benedict 
IX. was then Pope, having been raised to that post at 
the age of twelve by the influence of his father, the 



30 HILDEBRAM). 

Marquis of Tusculum. A life of shameless profligacy, 
however, led to this pontiff's deposition, shortly after the 
arrival of the young monk. A contest for the title en- 
sued, in which the stranger took a leading part. The 
nobles supported the deposed Pope, who was one of their 
order; but the clergy gave their voice for a candidate 
who took the name of Gregory the Sixth. Hildebrand, 
it is said, undertook to obtain by the power of gold what 
would otherwise have been disputed by that of steel. 
Benedict was open to a bribe, and resigned in favor of. 
his opponent, who ascended the chair of St. Peter in 
1044. In gratitude for this service, Gregory at his 
death made Hildebrand his heir. During the brief 
reigns of the two next Popes, who were murdered by 
their political enemies, the monk was comparatively 
quiet ; but attached himself to the Bishop of Toul, who 
was elected Pope Leo IX. by the Emperor of Germany 
in 1048. Hildebrand's genius now began to develop 
itself. Under his direction, the Pope set about the work 
of reforming abuses in the Church, and repressing heresy^ 
Councils were held with this view, and the decrees there 
pronounced rigorously carried into effect. On the defeat 
of Leo in his expedition against the Normans, and his 
death in 1054, Benedict IX. again attempted to recover 
the Papal See, but was still opposed by Hildebrand. By 
the aid of the monks, who looked up to him as their 
great champion, he won over the Romans to submit to a 
second Imperial election, rather than the yoke of the 
deposed profligate. Henry III. of Germany nominated 
Victor II., and the choice was accepted at Rome. As the 
legate of this Pope, Hildebrand proceeded to France, 



HILDEBRAND. 31 

where the abuses of the Church were most notorious. 
Here he remained a year, which he spent in making a 
searching inquiry into the prevalence of disorder, and 
ordaining stern measures of reform. The accession of 
Henry IV., a child of six years old, to the empire of 
Germany, in 1056, gave Hildebrand an opportunity of 
partially unfoldmg the schemes which he had hitherto 
concealed with respect to the exaltation of the priesthood. 
Two years afterwards, on the death of Stephen IX., who 
succeeded Victor II., a fresh contest occurred for the 
popedom. The Italian nobihty chose Benedict X., in 
opposition to the voice of the cardinals, who, at the desire 
of Hildebrand, elected Nicholas II. Immediately on the 
accession of the new Pope a council was summoned, from 
which Hildebrand obtained a decree that cardinals alone 
should elect a candidate for the See on any future vacan- 
cy, — the emperors to retain the right of confirmation 
only. This bold act was managed with such art as not 
to offend Henry or his counsellors. His sanction was 
asked to the next election of Pope Alexander H., in 1061, 
and though it was refused, and an anti-pope set up by the 
Imperial party, Hildebrand carried his point by unceas- 
ing firmness. In 1073, on the death of Alexander, he 
himself was chosen to succeed. Before accepting the 
dignity, however, he disarmed opposition by expressing 
his anxiety to obtain the Imperial sanction, which he 
considered essential to the validity of his title. Henry 
gave this assurance accordingly, and Hildebrand took 
the name of Gregory VII. From this period, the genius 
of this extraordinary man fully manifested itself. 

The aims of his life were to purify the Church from all 



32 HILDEBRAND. 

earthly taints, and with this purified Church to rule the 
world. A mighty scheme, verily! one that an earnest 
and faithful follower of Christ might lawfully conceive 
and execute, but one that might easily delude the schemer 
himself with its vastness, and lead him to glorify with the 
name of zeal what was in truth nothing but ambition. 
Hildebrand commenced by an attack on two leading cor- 
ruptions of the Church. He summoned a council in 1074, 
which pronounced a curse on all who committed the crime 
of simony, — that is, the trafficking in spmtual benefices, 
— and forbade the marriage of the clergy. The former 
of these ecclesiastical offences was, as we have said, shame- 
lessly and repeatedly practised, by no one so much as by 
Henry the Emperor of Germany. The latter corruption, 
as it was called, was scarcely less common, the tendency 
of humanity to obey the laws which God gave for its gov- 
ernment having hitherto proved too strong to be repressed 
by the decrees of unnatural councils. Simony truly de- 
served the severest checks that Hildebrand could j)lace 
upon it, destructive as it was to the spiritual character of 
a priest's office and the effect of his teaching on his flock. 
For the prohibition of marriage to the clergy, there is 
only to be said that the enforcement of this rule, inhuman 
and monstrous as it was, procured for the Church the 
advantages of undivided allegiance and stern discipline. 
Men who would consent to cut asunder their heartstrings 
for the sake of an idea, would worship it henceforth as an 
idol. To the first ordinance of this council, the Emperor, 
at whom it was chiefly directed, paid little regard, and 
continued his sale of benefices as before. The second or- 
dinance, however, created a painful excitement through- 



HILDEBRAND. 33 

out Christendom ; the Milanese clergy, who followed the 
practice of the Greek Church, and were generally mar- 
ried men, being especially loud in their complaints. All 
protest availed nothing; the decree of the council was 
final; and the iron heel of the ascetic Hildebrand has 
trampled down thousands of loving hearts through eight 
long centuries since. 

Finding Henry obstinate in his claims to the disposal 
of Church livmgs, Hildebrand ventured on a further and 
more daring step. At a council summoned in 1075, he 
caused a decree to be passed (or at least revived) abol- 
ishing the usage of what were called " lay investitures." 
This term was employed to signify the authority, which 
the Emperors of Germany and other monarchs exercised, 
of investing a bishop with his possession of the temporal- 
ties of his see ; that is, the lands from which his income 
was derived. These lands were fairly enough considered 
by the great lay lords to be parts of their territories, and 
a bishop as one among other tenants. The form of in- 
vesting a bishop was to put a ring and crosier into his 
hand, as symbols of office. Gregory used mild language 
in announcing this decree to the Emperor, but Henry 
showed no signs of yielding. He even entered into secret 
alliance against the Pope with the Normans, who were 
then ravaging parts of Italy. At the same time, some of 
the Roman nobles, either friendly to the Emperor, or 
jealous of Hildebrand's increasing power, executed a des- 
perate plan of dispossessing him. It was Christmas-day, 
and the great church of St. Peter's was thronged with 
worshippers, before whose eyes the vicegerent of Christ 
was performing the sacred mystery of the mass. He was 
2* c 



34 HILDEBEAND. 

yet pronouncing the solemn words which accompany the 
supposed alteration of bread and wine into flesh and 
blood, and the ignorant yet devout people were listening 
rapt to the sound of his revered voice, when suddenly the 
doors were burst open, and a body of armed men dashed 
through the crowd, and seized on the person of Hilde- 
brand. He was haled to prison, and his authority for a 
season usurped by the nobles who had thus sacrilegiously 
displaced him. But the clergy and the people were his 
warm adherents : a counter-faction was soon formed, Hil- 
debrand was released from his prison in triumph, and his 
captors were banished from the city. He hesitated no 
longer to act decisively against Henry. He declared 
that monarch's investitures void without the Papal sanc- 
tion ; excommunicated his ministers on the charge of sim- 
ony; and, after exciting the hopes of the Saxons and 
others who were in rebellion against him, actually sum- 
moned the Emperor to appear on his trial at Rome. 

The young man's blood was stirred, and his imperial 
dignity chafed, by this insulting summons. His reply 
was an order for an assembly of certain of his lords, in- 
cluding both nobles and bishops, to be held at Woims. 
Here, after stating the demands of Gregory, Henry ob- 
tained a decree, by which the Pope was deposed on the 
very same grounds alleged against the Emperor himself, 
namely, simony and murder ; to which the assembly 
added the charge of atheism. Gregory's anger at this 
audacity was only equalled by his determination to sur- 
pass it. He immediately, namely, in 1076, held another 
council, at which the Emperor was solemnly excommu- 
nicated, — his kingdoms adjudged to be forfeited, and his 



HILDEBRAND. 35 

subjects absolved from their allegiance. At the same 
time were pronounced the great decrees which have 
been called " the Pope s Dictates." These contain the 
main features of that system of universal supremacy 
which Hildebrand desired to establish. They announced 
that the Pope alone had the power to depose emperors 
and prelates ; that he was the chief lord in Christendom, 
to whom all monarchs were to kneel ; that he might ab- 
solve subjects from their oaths to impious kings ; that he 
could alone make absolute decrees which might annul 
those of lesser lords, but be annulled by none ; that the 
Cathohc Church in all times must be held infalHble, and 
those out of its pale no longer Christians. It may seem 
strange that these pretensions were so little resisted by 
the sovereigns, whose power they not only weakened but 
undermined ; but when it is considered how sacred was 
the sanction which the Pope could claim for his acts, 
and how formidable the instruments with which he was 
able to enforce them, we shall rather admire the courage 
of a prince like Henry in occupying the position of re- 
sistance single-handed. He attempted this manfully for 
some time, fortified by the support of the great cities of 
Lombardy, which Gregory had offended by his decree 
against the marriage of the clergy. But the excommu- 
nication of their sovereign was an excellent plea for 
revolt with the rebellious Saxons, and a natural cause 
of dread to those bishops who had been at first disposed 
to side with him. A league, headed by the Dukes of 
Suabia and Carinthia, was formed against him, and the 
unhappy prince found himself deserted both by the 
church and the laity. He nevertheless determined to 



86 HILDEBRAND. 

test the strength of his Lombard allies, and, although it 
was winter, set out for the Alps. The journey was pain- 
ful and tedious, and its effects on the courage and spirits 
of the naturally brave and sanguine Henry were very 
depressing. Superstition, too, began to work upon his 
mind, and the result was that, although joined by a large 
body of Lombards, he considered it vain to contend with 
his powerful enemy, and resolved to yield. The Countess 
Matilda of Tuscany was Gregory's great ally, and both 
were then residing at her fortress of Canossa, near Reg- 
gio, in Northern Italy. Thither, in January, 1077, the 
Emperor repaired to seek absolution. Judging it best 
to adopt the outward tokens of submission, he put on the 
garb of penance, and appeared before the castle in a 
woolen shirt, and barefooted. On arriving, his guards 
were separated from him, and he awaited an audience 
in the outer court. Gregory was occupied, it was said, 
with the Countess, and the Emperor must wait. Thus 
scantily clothed, and fasting, in an atmosphere of intense 
cold, his naked feet resting on the snow, did Henry remain 
for three days, from morning till evening. Gregory at last 
considered the penance sufficiently severe, and admitted 
the Emperor to his presence. The spirit of the proud 
prince was tamed, and he humbly asked for absolution, 
which was granted. He, however, could not obtain per- 
mission to reassume the Imperial Crown until a decision 
on the subject had been given by a general assembly. 
Forced to accept these degrading terms, Henry withdrew 
from the Pope's presence, and found that his Lombard 
allies had deserted him in disgust. 

Instead of further depressing, this intelligence served 



HILDEBRAND. 37 

to restore his fallen spirit. He repudiated his late cow- 
ardice, and prepared for fresh resistance, but failed for 
some time to recover his lost ground. The German 
nobles assembled, and formally deposed him in favor of 
Rudolph, Duke of Suabia. Henry led an army against 
the rebels, but was defeated. Gregory supported Ru- 
dolph's claims, and sent him the crown with an inscrip- 
tion, signifying that it was given in right of the Papal 
authority, transmitted from St. Peter. Henry's strength 
of mind was stimulated by this new insult. He called 
together a council in the Tyrol, at which he obtained the 
deposition of Gregory, and elected in his stead Guibert, 
Archbishop of Ravenna, as Pope Clement IH. In the 
next encounter between the Emperor's army and the 
rebels, which took place at Merseberg, October 2, 1081, 
Rudolph fell by the hand of a young hero, of whom we 
shall hear more. Herman of Luxembourg proved an 
inefficient successor, — the spirit of revolt was crushed, 
and Henry remained victor. "War was now declared by 
him against Gregory, whose allies were Robert Guiscard, 
the Norman leader, and the Countess Matilda. This 
War of Investiture, as it was called, from its original 
occasion, was continued for some years. Henry three 
times attacked Rome, but was repulsed, and withdrew to 
ravage the territories of the Countess. Negotiations 
were at length agreed on in 1083, and Gregory showed 
some signs of yielding at least a part of his vast demands. 
But in the next year a faction arose in Rome itself 
against the Pope's authority, and Henry was invited to 
enter the city. Advancing rapidly with an army, he ap- 
peared before the walls on the 21st of March, 1084, and 



38 HILDEBRAND. 

made himself master of the Lateran palace and the chief 
bridges. Gregory was taken by surprise at the assault, 
but contrived to escape to the Castle of St. Angelo. 
Henry immediately took measures to install the new Pope. 
On Palm Sunday, Guibert was solemnly consecrated by 
several bishops who were opposed to Gregory, and the 
shouts of the populace must have struck with most unme- 
lodious concord on the ear of the fugitive through the 
grim walls of his fortress. To complete the agony of 
defeat, Henry was on the following Sunday (Easter-day) 
crowned Emperor by the hands of the new Pope, amid 
the renewed rejoicings of the people. But Gregory's 
imprisonment was not of long duration. His ally, Guis- 
card, marched towards Pome with an army to aid him, 
and fearing the result of an encounter, Henry deemed it 
prudent to retire. The fierce Normans, who numbered a 
body of Saracens also in their ranks, entered at Henry's 
departure, and released Gregory. Unable to appreciate 
the glory and beauty of the Eternal City, the barbarians 
availed themselves of the plea of conquest to plunder on 
every hand, — Gregory feeling either too enraged at the 
late conduct of the Romans, or too powerless in the 
hands of his allies, to prevent their violence. He soon 
summoned a council, and again pronounced Henry and 
Clement excommunicated. War might have recom- 
menced if Guiscard and his Normans had remained at 
Rome ; but, sated with plunder, they retired to Salerno ; 
whither Gregory, feeling insecure at Rome, soon followed. 
Here, in 1085, shortly after performing the solemn act 
of consecration in a church which the Normans had lately 
erected, he was seized with illness. Worn with recent 



HILDEBRAND. 39 

excitement and fatigue, his frame rapidly gave way. 
Mentally strong to the last, and persuaded of the truth of 
his pretensions, he repeated his decrees against Henry 
and the upstart who called himself Pope. With the 
proud words on his lips, " I have loved justice and hated 
iniquity, and therefore I die in exile," the great Hilde- 
brand expired. 

We seem to see in this extraordinary man a strong, 
earnest, and upright nature, distorted by pride, and over- 
whelmed with the greatness of a scheme which it was in 
the power of no single being to accomphsh. His aims 
were perhaps pure throughout : they were, at least, no- 
ble in the outset, — as far as we can judge : but the fatal 
error of making self the representative of a principle, 
perverted the reformer into the despot. He thus accom- 
plished as much evil as good. If he succeeded in freeing 
the Church from the interference of lay powers, he united 
such a vast temporal authority to the spiritual office of 
the Popes as speedily outweighed the importance of the 
latter, and corrupted the Church at its fountain. In short, 
he only changed one tyranny for another. Yet, let him 
have his full praise for a praiseworthy deed. He was 
martyred, but his work survived. His successors carried 
on the same struggle with the German emperors, and 
finally prevailed. 

In 1122, Pope Calixtus II. and the Emperor Henry 
V. agreed to a compromise of the long outstanding ques- 
tion of investiture. By the terms of this concordat, as 
it was called, the Church was henceforth privileged to 
choose its own bishops, without any interference of the 
Emperors ; who also surrendered their claim to invest 



40 HILDEBRAM). 

with the ring and crosier, retaining only the right to be 
present, through their officers, at the election of a bishop, 
and to receive his homage by the sceptre, as in the case 
of other tenants. Even this limited power was still fur- 
ther diminished by the concessions of later emperors. 
The growth of a practice, that the cathedral clergy (deans 
and chapters) should choose their bishops, finally centred 
all spiritual government in the Church. Thus Hilde- 
brand's good work was accomplished. Would that his 
evil work had not Hved also ! But he had sullied his 
righteous ends with unrighteous means ; and his succes- 
sors imitated these no less than those. The arrogance 
and despotism of Innocent III., Innocent IV., and Boni- 
face VIIL, stretched the doctrine of Papal Supremacy 
so tightly, that it broke beneath the strain. The yoke of 
tyranny became insupportable ; and at last, arming her- 
self with the weapons of intellect, which Rome had so 
long wielded alone, Europe rose to her feet, and made 
herself free. 



THE MOORS IN SPAIN. 

As the heroes of whom we are treating belong to his- 
toiy, and not romance, w^e feel some hesitation in num- 
bering the Cicl in our list, — the narratives concerning his 
life and exploits being, to a great extent, merely poetic. 
Yet it has been wisely said, that much which must be 
rejected as not fact may still be accepted as truth : that 
is, there is often to be found, under the husks of legend 
and myth, a sound kernel of historical reality. This may 
be the case with respect to the Cid, — who, probably, was 
a warrior so remarkable for genius or bravery above his 
fellows, that he gathered up in a single fame the reputa- 
tions of many others, with whose deeds he was credited, 
and whom, as a class, he accordingly represents in his- 
tory. 

Spain, long one of the most flourishing provinces of the 
Roman empire, was amongst the first to fall under the 
Bway of the Visi-Goths, a warlike but enlightened race, 
which soon embraced Christianity. For three centuries 
the country remained under Gothic rule, but fell in 712 
by the invasion of the Arabian conquerors of Africa, — a 
remnant of Christians only preserving an independent 
monarchy in the mountains of Asturia. This little seed 



42 



THE cm. 



of freedom grew and bore fruit. France, as we have 
seen, proved a formidable barrier against further inva- 
sion; and in Spain itself internal jealousies among the 
Arab families weakened the Moslem and strengthened 
the Christian power. In the eleventh century there were 
several states in Spain wholly unfettered by a foreign 
yoke. ^ The enmity between the two races and creeds 
was bitter, and war raged perpetually. Yet it often 
happened that, at the prompting of private revenge or 
family quarrels, alliances were made between kingdoms 
thus naturally opposed to each other. A recollectFon of 
this fact is essential to a clear understanding of Spanish 
history at this period. 

At the commencement of the eleventh century the 
chief Christian states of Spain became, through divers 
marriages, united under one king, Sancho, who died in 
1034, dividing his territories among his three sons: of 
whom Garcia took Navarre; Ferdinand, Castile; and 
Ramirez, Aragon. Leon, the remaining Christian mon- 
archy, was ruled by Bermudez ni., whose sister Ferdi- 
nand of Castile had married. Just as this apparent junc- 
tion of interests occurred among the warriors of the Cross, 
the greatest confusion prevailed among those of the Cres- 
cent. The mighty house of the Ommiades — perhaps the 
most illustrious of the factions into which the successors 
of the Prophet were divided — no longer commanded the 
allegiance of the Arabs of Spain. Its last prince fled, 
and the chief cities fell into the hands of independent 
lords, who constituted themselves petty Emirs in their 
own dominions. Instead, however, of taking full advan- 
tage of this state of anarchy to extend their united power, 



THE CID. 43 

the Christian kings weakened each other by unnatural 
and deadly quarrels. Ferdinand, king of Castile, seems 
to have been the principal aggressor. His great captain 
in his wars, both with Moslem and Christian states, was 
Rodrigo Laynez, who was called also by the Spaniards 
Ruy Diaz de Rivar, from the name of" his birthplace ; 
and by the Ai-abs El Sayd (Lord), which has been aU 
tered into Cid. He was probably bom about the year 
1026, or rather later, at the castle of Rivar, near Burgos, 
in Old Castile, of a noble but not wealthy family. He 
joined the army of Ferdinand, and rose by his talents, 
strength, and courage, to the highest place in that king's 
service. Among the romantic stories told of his early 
career is one concerning his marriage, which forms the 
subject of a popular ballad. The father of Rodrigo hav- 
ing been injured by a Count Gomez, the young knight 
defied him to duel, and slew him. The Count's daughter, 
Ximena, in a storm of grief and rage, flew to the king, 
and cried for vengeance on Rodi'igo, who met her face to 
face, and awaited the result of her enti'eaties. 

No one, however, was hardy enough to offer himself as 
the damsel's champion against so doughty a warrior, and 
Rodi'igo calmly retired. His manly bearing and fame 
won him a place in the very heart which he had so deeply 
offended; and, with truly Spanish impetuosity, Ximena 
gave him, not only pardon, but love. She again repaired 
to the king, and asked leave to bestow her hand upon the 
knight, — urging the curious plea, that she foresaw he 
would one day be the most powerful subject in the realm. 
Informed of this request, of which the king approved, 
Rodi'igo consented to the marriage, as an act of obedience 



44 THE CID. 

to his sovereign and of justice to the lady. The meeting 
of this strangely matched pair is thus described in the 
ballad (Lockhart's translation) : — 

" But when the fair Ximena came forth to plight her hand, 
Rodrlgo, gazing on her, his face could not command: 
He stood, and blushed before her: thus at the last said he, 
* I slew thy sire, Ximena, but not in villany : 
In no disguise I slew him; man against man I stood; 
There Avas some wrong between us, and I did shed his blood: 
I slew a man; I owe a man; fair lady, by God's grace. 
An honored husband shalt thou have in thy dead father's place.' " 

It is unfortunate that this charming story is supposed 
to have but httle foundation in fact. Many of Rodrigo's 
legendary exploits are still less authentic; but history 
and fable unite in declaring him a warrior of no common 
stamp. Plis master, King Ferdinand, as we have said, 
invaded the territories of his brothers and friends, besides 
those of his enemies. Garcia, Eamirez, and Bermudez, 
successively fell before liis attacks, which Rodrigo, in the 
true spirit of knightly obedience to his lord, did not hesi- 
tate to lead. Sancho, the king's eldest son, was Rodrigo's 
most intimate friend ; and on the accession of the prince 
to his father's throne on the death of Ferdinand, in 1065, 
Rodrigo became Campeador (or, as the Arabs called him, 
M Cambitur), that is, head of the army. The new king 
followed in his father's courses of injustice, and drove his 
brother, Alfonso, King of Leon, into exile. 

In 1072 Sancho besieged Zamora ; which one of his 
sisters, whom he had likewise despoiled, held out against 
him. The King was killed during the siege ; and, as it 
was suspected, by the agency of his exiled brother, Al- 
fonso, who succeeded to the throne. Rodrigo felt his 



THE CID. 45 

friend's death deeply, and did not scruple to avow his 
suspicions of Alfonso. Before promising allegiance, the 
Campeador insisted that the King should cleanse himself 
by an oath of the accusation which popular rumor had 
brought against him. To this Alfonso, whether innocent 
or guilty, not unnaturally demurred; but the powerful 
warrior was firm, and the King at last yielded. When 
the appointed day arrived, Alfonso made his appearance, 
surrounded by his courtiers, all obsequiously vying in 
praise of his glory and virtue, and contemptuous denunci- 
ations of his daring accuser. Rodrigo stood alone, and 
gazed on the king sternly. Some of the nobles endeav- 
ored to dissuade him from holding this attitude of opposi- 
tion, and to induce him to forego the demand which he 
had made ; but he put them aside, and repeated his chal- 
lenge. Alfonso dared not refuse to accept it, and accord- 
ingly recited aloud the form of oath prescribed on such 
occasions, — affirming, in the presence of his Maker and 
the Saints of Heaven, that he was guiltless of the death 
of his brother. He had no sooner concluded, than all 
eyes were turned upon the Cid, who, in deep, solemn 
tones, and with the most impressive earnestness of man- 
ner, imprecated on the head of his king every curse that 
heaven or hell could inflict, if, in taking that oath, he had 
committed perjury. The awed assembly then broke up. 
Eodrigo, from that hour, was hated by the king and 
shunned by the court. 

Yet, aware of the Cid's value, Alfonso seems to have 
concealed his resentment for some time, and even endeav- 
ored to win the afiection of his great subject, by allying 
him in marriage with one of the royal family. Rodrigo's 



46 THE cm. 

wife was now dead, and he consented to marry the prin- 
cess proposed to him, whose name was also Ximena. 
The marriage took place in 1074. It had not the effect, 
however, of miiting the King and the Cid. After having 
achieved a brilliant success over the Arabs of Granada, 
who were at war with two other Moslem states in alli- 
ance with Castile, and having signaHzed his humanity by 
releasing all his prisoners, the great Campeador was dis- 
graced and banished by his ungrateful master. At the 
court of the Emir of Saragossa the exile found a ready 
welcome, and was appointed to a high post in the govern- 
ment of the kingdom. He did not bear arms against his 
own sovereign, but headed the Arabs in several battles 
with the Christians of Ai-agon and other states. The 
invasion of a Moorish host into Spain, under the eminent 
Caliph Jusef Ben Taxiin, chief of the Almoravides and 
conqueror of Morocco, — the rapid subjugation of the in- 
dependent Emirs, — and the defeat of Alfonso's army by 
that prince at the battle of Zalaka, in 1087, recalled the 
Castilians to a sense of Rodrigo's worth. He was invited 
to return by Alfonso, and with great generosity consent- 
ed; bringing with him a large body of men raised by 
his own exertions and cost. For two years he made his 
name terrible to the Moors, as the great Christian cham- 
pion. 

But even this fame was not sufficient to secure his 
influence at court, and about the year 1090 he was once 
more banished, and his estates were seized. He appears 
from this time to have commenced a hfe of adventurous 
and independent warfare with the Moors. He besieged 
Alcocer, a strong Moorish fortress on the borders of Ara- 



THE CID. 47 

gon, and finally took it. With a band of determined 
warriors of his own stamp he ravaged, consumed, and 
spoiled all the Moslem territories which he invaded, — 
making a castle on a rock in Ternel his chief stronghold, 
and thence sallying out in forays. The place has been 
ever since called the Kock of the Cid. 

The last and greatest achievement of this hero was 
the taking of Valencia. This city was in the hands of a 
Moslem prince, Alcadir by name, who had refused to ac- 
knowledge the authority of Jusef and the Almoravides 
over Spain, which they were attempting to subdue. The 
Cid, either as an ally of Alcadir, or from motives of pol- 
icy, assisted him in the defence of the city ; but it was 
taken through the treachery of its Cadi, Ahmed. For 
this service, the traitor was made governor in the room 
of Alcadir, who fell fighting bravely. A kinsman of the 
betrayed king determined to avenge his death, and asked 
the Cid's aid, wliich was promptly given. The Arabian 
historians relate that Ahmed yielded after a brief siege, 
on conditions of safety for himself and family. It is fur- 
ther related that this promise was faithlessly broken, and 
the guilty Ahmed sentenced by Rodrigo to be burnt alive 
for his crimes. The Christian historians happily acquit 
the Cid's memory of this barbarity ; but all unite in re- 
cording the successful siege of the city, which he took in 
1094. While he lived, the Moors vainly tried to retake 
it ; but on his death, which is supposed to have occurred 
in 1099, Valencia again fell. Romance has colored with 
glowing tints this scanty historic outline of the Cid's life. 
Spanish literature, for two or three hundred years after 
his death, is almost confined to epic or ballad poetry, of 



t ; 
i. 



48 THE CID. 



wliich he is the hero. To acquire such a fame demanded 
a force of character, which, if not accurately painted by 
these loving and fanciful narrators, cannot have fallen far 
short of the glory with which the world will forever asso- 
ciate the name of the Cid Campeador. 



§Mxq k IfluHlott. 



THE FIRST CRUSADE. 

The Asiatic tribes which embraced the religion of 
Mohammed, though presenting many diversities of char- 
acter, were, durmg the middle ages, generally confounded 
under the name of Saracens, the original title of an Arab 
race on the borders of Egypt. As the Mohammedan 
conquests extended, the sceptre of domination passed 
from the hands of one tribe to another, and jealousies led 
to the formation of independent states at various times. 
The names of tlu'ce only of the great Mohammedan fac- 
tions need be borne in mind. The Fatimites, or follow- 
ers of Ali, who married the Prophet's daughter Fatima ; 
the Abbassides, followers of his uncle Abbas ; and the 
Ommiades, who took their name from an eminent chief- 
tain, Ommiyah. The hatred of these factions to each 
other was intense. In the eleventh century the chief 
power in the East passed into the hands of the Turks, a 
tribe from the plains of Tartary, which, under color of 
supporting the Abbassides of Persia, rapidly rose into 
superior importance, and finally absorbed many of the 
greatest Mohammedan powers into itself. 

The " Holy Land " of Palestine, or Judsea, was one 
of the most remai'kable, if not valuable, portions of the 
3 D 



50 GODFKEY DE BOUILLON. 

Saracen empire, to which it was annexed by Omar in the 
seventh century. Under the vnse rule of the Abbassides, 
especially of such cahphs as the famous Haroun Alras- 
chid, the sanctity with which Jerusalem was regarded 
alike by Jews and Christians was respected. Pilgrim- 
ages to the Holy Sepulchre were tolerated, and the pil- 
grims protected. This just and liberal treatment was 
exchanged in the eleventh century for cruel and bigoted 
persecutions, under one of the Fatimite caliphs, who had 
displaced the Abbassides as Commanders of the Faithful. 
Hakem even destroyed the great Christian Church of 
the Resurrection, and wantonly insulted the ceremonies 
of Easter-day. Succeeding caliphs, however, restored 
the toleration which Hakem had violated, and pilgrimages 
were renewed with increased enthusiasm. As many as 
3,000 pilgrims, under the Bishop of Cambrai, set out for 
Jerusalem in 1054. None, indeed, succeeded in reach- 
ing the Holy City, — the majority perishing by famine 
and sliipwreck. Undaunted, notwithstanding this failure, 
a body of 7,000, among whom were several bishops, 
undertook a similar expedition ten years later, and about 
half of the number arrived at their destination. A pil- 
grimage to Jerusalem was indeed one of the most com- 
mon forms of penance for crime prescribed by the super- 
stition of the age, and men, and even women, as well of 
the highest as the lowest rank, vied for honors in an am- 
bition so holy as that of kissing the spot where the 
Saviour's body had lain. 

Such was the state of feeling in Europe when, in the 
year 1094, the Turks (of whom we have spoken) be- 
sieged the Holy City, then ruled by the Fatimite Cahphs, 



GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 51 

and took it. The bigotry and persecution of Hakem 
were revived, and the pilgrims subjected to every form 
of violence and insult. The Greek Emperor, Alexius 
Commenus, whom the Turks had recently defeated, im- 
plored the assistance of the great Christian states against 
this new and formidable foe. Pope Urban II., to whom 
his letter was addressed, was then engaged in the same 
War of Investiture which Gregory VII. had so long car- 
ried on with Henry IV., Emperor of Germany. The 
Council of Plaisance, which Urban summoned to decide 
upon the measures to be taken against the Turks, was 
attended by the partisans on both sides of the quarrel, 
and politics were angrily discussed instead of religion. 
Meantime, however, the enthusiasm of the people of 
France, Germany, and Italy, had been aroused to a 
pitch of frenzy by the glowing and pathetic eloquence of 
a French monk, named Peter the Hermit, who had re- 
cently returned from Jerusalem, where he had witnessed 
the barbarities inflicted on the Christians. This earnest 
and imaginative fanatic, deeply impressed with the holi- 
ness of his mission, kindled in all whom he addressed 
a like zeal. Urban gave him full sanction to awaken 
Christendom to the duty of expelling the infidel from the 
holy places ; and in a marvellously brief space of time 
the work was accomplished. France was the great 
centre of excitement; and here, therefore, Urban, on 
learning Peter's success, summoned his next assembly. 
It was held at Clermont, in Auvergne, during the winter 
of 1095, nobles and prelates, with thousands of lower 
rank, crowding the cities and towns of the neighborhood. 
At the tenth sitting the vast concourse was addressed by 



52 GODFKEY DE BOUILLON. 

Peter the Hermit, who pictured, in passionate and touch- 
ing language, which drew tears from his hearers, the 
sufferings of the Christians in Palestine. Then Pope 
Urban, with more solemn and weighty words, appealed 
to the princes and soldiers of France who were seated 
before him. He remmded them of the national exploits 
of their fathers, whom Charles Martel and Charlemagne 
led against the Saracens ; and called on the sons of such 
fathers to achieve yet greater deeds. As the burning 
words dropped from his lips they lighted a flame in every 
heart, and the whole assembly suddenly rose and shout- 
ed with one voice, " It is God's will ! It is God's will ! " 
Urban caught up the cry : " Yes, without doubt, it is 
God's will. He has dictated to you the words, let them 
be your war-cry, and be this your badge ! " As he spoke, 
he held up a crucifix. The great meeting was moved 
like one man ; and, falhng on their knees, all confessed 
their sins, received absolution, and took vows of service 
in the Holy War. A red cross, embroidered on the right 
shoulder, was the common sign assumed by all the sol- 
diers, who thence acquired the name of " Crusaders." 
The departure of the army was fixed for the 15th Au- 
gust, 1096; but the rude and undisciplined people whom 
Peter's teaching had aroused required no preparation, 
and were eager to set out at once. The result of this 
misguided expedition was such as might have been ex- 
pected. As many as 300,000 persons (including women 
and children) are said to have set out under the guid- 
ance of Peter and a knight named Walter the Penniless. 
Ignorant of the route, blindly looking for miraculous 
support, and on the failure of this reduced to plunder, 



viODFREY DE BOUILLON. 53 

they fell into the hands of the fierce tribes of Hungary 
and Bulgai'ia, who massacred them by hundreds. Those 
who escaped the Hungarians, and reached Bithynia, 
there perished by the attacks of the Turks, and only 
Peter returned to record the fate of the expedition. 
Meantime, the highest nobles of France and Germany 
were arming and preparing in earnest for the enterprise 
to which they were vowed. Estates were pawned and 
sold to obtain money for the expenses of the undertaking, 
and many commercial cities purchased important liber- 
ties from their lords at this favorable opportunity. The 
chief of one of three great divisions into which the 
Christian army was formed was a man whom we have 
taken as the very type and model of a true crusader, — 
Godfrey de Bouillon. 

He was the son of Gustavus, Count of Bouillon, or 
Boulogne, in the district of Ardennes and province of 
Luxembourg, and was born about the year 1060. His 
profession had been from his youth that of arms, and his 
earliest services in the field were rendered to his lord, 
the Emperor of Germany. In the war of Investiture he 
had taken an active part against Gregory YII., and bore 
the Imperial standard at the battle of Merseberg. By his 
hand (as we have previously hinted) the usurper, Rudolph, 
Duke of Suabia, fell in that decisive encounter. Godfrey's 
sword, swayed by his young and powerful wrist, is said 
to have shorn off the right arm of Rudolph at a single 
stroke. For this valiant deed, Henry IV. created God- 
frey Duke of his province of Bouillon ; or, according to 
some historians. Lower Lorraine. At the subsequent 
siege of Rome, which we have already described, Godfrey 



54 GODFKEY DE BOUILLON. 

made himself again prominent by scaling the city walls 
among the first. This action colored his whole life. All 
his contemporaries portray his nature as displaying the 
loftiest integrity and the deepest piety. Sound and clear 
as. his intellect was, he yet shared in the superstition of 
his times, and was led by reflection to believe that, in 
bearing arms against God's vicegerent, and attacking a 
city where so many apostles and martyrs lay buried, he 
had been guilty of a heinous sin. Remorse worked on 
his mind so heavily that he took a vow to join in the 
Crusade, from a conviction that his glaring crime could 
only be blotted out by a heroism equally conspicuous. 
His noble birth, and yet nobler character, won for him 
so high a place in the estimation of his fellows, that, on 
announcing his intention of undertaking the Crusade, 
hundreds flocked to his standard. A worthy general, 
truly, of soldiers thus ardent in a cause which they 
deemed divine ! To the qualities of bodily strength and 
beauty, which in those days were chiefly valued in the 
head of an army, Godfrey happily united the more dura- 
ble strength of intellect and beauty of soul. His knight- 
ly heart and statesman's mind never ran counter ; and 
whatever generous policy the one dictated, was carried 
into effect by the wisdom of the other. Although averse 
to distinction, it was thrust upon him by the votes of his 
fellow-chiefs, and their decision was gladly hailed by the 
common soldiers, who loved Godfrey as a father. He 
would not, therefore, refuse the post of general, but ap- 
i:>lied himself to its duties with activity. He first set an 
example of unselfish zeal to his brother nobles, by dis- 
posing of his duchy for the purpose of his expedition, — 



GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 55 

an example faithfully followed by the leading nobihty of 
France and the Rhine. He then summoned his army to 
join him in August, 1096, on the banks of the rivers 
Meuse and Moselle. At the appointed time, a force of 
80,000 foot and 10,000 horse assembled under his banner, 
and set out on its march through Germany, — the two 
other divisions of the Chi'istian army taking a different 
route. On reaching Hungary, Carloman, who then ruled 
that country, showed some signs of objection to the pas- 
sage of so formidable a body, — remembering the licen- 
tious excesses that had been committed by the rabble 
which followed Peter the Hermit. Here Godfrey's wis- 
dom was admirably displayed. By his firm measures of 
restraint on the impetuosity of his troops he first proved 
that they were under the influence of strict discipline. 
Then, confiding himself to the justice and good faith of 
Carloman, he disarmed that monarch's suspicions by 
frankness and simplicity. The result was that, instead 
of opposition, the Hungarian prince gave him help, and 
escorted the Crusaders with a body of cavalry into the 
territories of Greece. Alexius Comnenus was by this 
time alarmed at the eagerness with wliich tlie Christian 
states had responded to his appeal for aid against the 
infidel. He mistrusted, not without reason, the intentions 
of some of the chiefs of the expedition, — mere adven- 
turers, like the Norman Boemond of Tarentum for ex- 
ample, Avho was his avowed foe, — and therefore deemed 
it politic to guard against danger to himself by demanding 
homage from all the Crusaders who entered his domin- 
ions. The two other divisions of the Christian army 
were now on their way to Constantinople, by a different 



56 GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 

road from that taken by Godfrey. One of the French 
nobles, the Count de Vermandois, was shipwrecked on 
the coast of Epiriis, and Alexius unjustifiably detained 
him as a prisoner or hostage for the good faith of the 
other leaders. On learning these tidings, Godfrey, who 
was now in Thrace, sent to the Emperor, requiring the 
Count's release. This was not accorded ; and Godfrey, 
therefore, treated the country as hostile ; levying contri- ; 
butions on the people as he marched through. The Em- ; 
peror immediately saw his error, and promised to grant 
the Count's release on the arrival of the French army, i 
This promise satisfied Godfrey, and his march was once j 
more peaceful. The wily Emperor, in the mean while, i 
obtained from his prisoner an oath of homage, hoping to ■ 
induce the other Crusaders to follow the example. God- i 
frey, on his arrival, at first refused this, as unbecoming | 
the rank and character which he bore ; but, finding that | 
the act would appease the jealousies which had already j 
broken out between the Greeks and Franks, and put a ■ 
check on the schemes of those leaders in the crusading ■ 
ranks whom Alexius especially dreaded, at last consented. , 
The other chieftains made a like submission ; and this I 
sacrifice of pride, by healing internal discords, served for i 
a season to promote the success of the Crusade. i 

After a sojourn of some time at Constantinople, the ■ 
Crusaders, now formed into one army, crossed the Bos- J 
phorus, and entered Bithynia. Here the sight of the , 
carnage which the Turks had inflicted on the weak and j 
disorderly body that Peter had led forth, stimulated the ! 
zeal and indignation of the Christian host. Its passage I 
through the Turkish kingdom of Roum was not unre- 



GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 57 

sisted. David, then Sultan, a valiant prince, had already 
prepared an army, and fortified his capital of Nice, — a 
position of great natural strength. 

The Crusaders advanced in excellent order ; and, after 
twice routing the Turkish army of defence, commenced 
the siege. Godfrey is said to have distinguished himself 
by a feat of skill on one occasion during this assault. A 
gigantic Turk, who was the hero of the Moslem army, 
had greatly harassed the Christians by his wondrous suc- 
cess in the use of the javelin. Having spent his shafts 
one day, he ascended a tower, and showered masses of 
rock on the besiegers, whom he at the same time abused, 
and defied to combat. The Christian archers played 
upon his person, without bringing liim down ; until God- 
frey grasped a crossbow, and at one shot pierced the 
giant's heart. The siege lasted seven weeks ; and was 
prosecuted with such vigor and ingenuity by the Cru- 
saders that the Turks were on the point of yielding, 
when Alexius, who had sent a body of Greeks with the 
army, craftily procured to himself the glory of conquest 
by instructing his general to intrigue with the Niece ans 
secretly, and persuade them to yield to his power, on con- 
dition of protection. The Greek general so worked upon 
the fears and hopes of the garrison, that his advice was 
accepted ; and, to the surprise and anger of the Franks, 
the Emperor's flag one day appeared on the towers of 
Nice, and the city surrendered. This act of perfidy re- 
opened the jealousy between the Eastern and Western 
Christians, which Godfrey had labored to extinguish ; 
and from this time may be dated the rise of those inter- 
nal divisions which eventually proved so fatal to the 
3* 



58 GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 

Crusades. The seeds of disunion, indeed, existed from 
the first among the Franks themselves. There was no 
bond of alhance between the score of different European 
nations which were thus assembled together, — save a 
common faith and a common cause. How truly religious 
was the feeling wliich animated the whole enterprise is 
strikingly shown by the intluence which it exerted in 
keeping under control for so long a time the evil passions 
which the unwonted junction of so many various races 
perpetually excited. When we remember that the army 
was governed by no single general, and that the troops of 
one officer refused to acknowledge the authority of an- 
other, we shall rather wonder at the maintenance of any 
sort of order than at the prevalence of so much conten- 
tion. 

Leaving Nice, the Crusaders advanced in two divisions ; 
both without guides, and through a hostile and desert 
country. The Turks, in great numbers, followed in their 
rear. Godfrey and the Count of Thoulouse headed one 
division ; Boemond, prince of Tarentum, and Robert, 
Duke of Normandy (son of our Wilham the Conqueror), 
the other. The latter body had separated from the for- 
mer at some distance, and was traversing the plains near 
Dorylgeum, in Phrygia, when a sudden attack was made • 
upon it by a powerful army of Turks. The Christians 
were taken by surprise, while exhausted with heat and 
fatigue, and in an unfavorable situation. In spite of the 
heroic valor of Boemond, Robert, and other knights, the 
battle was turning against them ; when Godfrey's division, 
to which a message had been despatched, came up. He 
shouted aloud the Crusaders' war-cry : " It is God's 



'> ^ 




GODFEEY DE BOUILLON. 59 

will ! " and the whole army, echoing the shout, by a 
gallant charge retrieved the fortunes of the day, and 
completely routed the Turks. After this success the 
Crusaders resolved to march in a single body, and thus 
prevent a recurrence of the hazard which they had 
escaped. The Turks preceded them, burning the crops 
as they went ; and the Christians, in consequence, suf- 
fered fearful privations from famine during the march. 
Hundreds perished from exliaustion. The horses died 
for want of sufficient food and water ; and knights were 
seen either walking on foot, or riding on oxen and asses, 
carrying their own armor. In passing through Pisidia, 
an anecdote is related of Godfrey which is characteristic 
of his courage and gallantry. He was wandering among 
the recesses of a forest in pursuit of game, which was 
needed for the supply of the troops, when he came upon 
a private soldier of the army, who was defending himself 
from the attack of a bear. Godfrey struck at the beast, 
which at once turned on its new assailant, inflicting a 
deep wound in his thigh. Another stroke from the skil- 
ful hunter's arm terminated the contest; but the blood 
streamed from his wound sp rapidly, that he scarcely 
reached the camp alive. The grief of his soldiers was 
intense, as they beheld their beloved leader stretched on 
a litter, and borne into his tent as if dead. The skill of 
his physicians and a long interval of rest triumphed over 
the weakness occasioned by the loss of blood, and God- 
frey once more appeared at the head of his army. 

Antiochetta, the capital of Pisidia, attempted no resist- 
ance ; and here the main body of the Christians recruited 
for some time. Meanwhile, a party of Crusaders, headed 



60 GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 

by Baldwin, brother of Godfrey, and a famous knight 
named Tancred, had been sent forward to clear a passage 
for the army. Tancred subdued the city of Tarsus ; but 
his victory was usurped by Baldwin, whose ambitious 
and covetous nature bore no resemblance to that of his 
brother. Tancred, a man after Godfrey's heart, surren- 
dered this conquest for the sake of peace ; but when 
Baldwin showed symptoms of repeating his injustice, 
resisted by force. Tancred was defeated, but a recon- 
ciliation took place between the combatants. Baldwin, 
who had no real interest in the success of the Crusade, 
soon afterwards turned aside into Mesopotamia, where he 
made himself master of Edessa, and formed a Christian 
state there. Though founded by merely personal ambi- 
tion, this eventually proved of great assistance to the 
Crusaders, by checking the progress of the Turkish arms 
in Asia. 

The main body now crossed the Taurus, after a tedious 
and painful passage, and presented itself before the walls 
of Antioch, then ruled by an independent ^Turkish emir 
named Accien. This city was especially dear to the 
Christians, as the first in , which their title had been 
assumed ; and the sight of its walls roused their flagging 
spirits. Some of the generals advised that the siege 
should be deferred for some months, until reinforcements 
arrived, and the winter was over ; but the majority of 
the chiefs, among whom Godfrey was conspicuous, confi- 
,dent of success, and dreading the depressing influences 
of delay, urged an immediate attack, which was accord- 
ingly made. The Turks adopted the stratagem of appar- 
ently neglecting to defend the city ; and the Christians, 



GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 61 

fidling into the snare, scattered their forces. The licen- 
tiousness of some of their number, moreover, proved fatal 
to their vigilance, and a sudden sortie of the garrison 
inflicted deadly havoc. The siege was then commenced 
in earnest; but the city was so strongly guarded, that 
months elapsed without any impression being made upon 
its walls ; and disease, famine, and the inclemency of the 
season, united with the missiles of the Turks to weaken 
the Christian force. Many of the leaders (Robert, Duke 
of Normandy, among them) withdrew in cowardly dis- 
gust at the failure of the siege and the pressure of want ; 
while despair drove many of those who remained to 
courses of reckless vice. Godfrey, firm to his duty and 
strong in faith, aided the exertions of the clergy in en- 
couraging the spirits of his troops, and restraining their 
profligate excesses. A timely supply of provisions from 
some of the Armenian monasteries, and a brilliant vic- 
tory obtained by Boemond and the Count of Thoulouse 
over an army which the Sultans of Aleppo and Damas- 
cus had sent to the succor of Antioch, rewarded God- 
frey's confidence, and infused new vigor into the hearts 
of his army. This was needed to sustain the brunt of a 
desperate encounter which shortly afterwards took place 
between the besieged and their besiegers. A reinforce- 
ment of Itahan Crusaders having arrived, it was sud- 
denly attacked by a large Turkish force, and thrown into 
disorder. Godfrey, who had been engaged on the siege, 
rapidly marshalled his men, and fell upon the enemy. 
A sortie of the garrison was immediately made, and a 
fearful conflict ensued under the walls of the city. The 
Turks were put to flight with immense loss, and the 



62 GODFKEY DE BOUILLON. 

Christians pursued them up to the very gates. In this i 
scene of carnage, Godfrey's recorded feats of valor ap- j 
preached the incredible. His sword clave the stoutest j 
armor asunder at a blow. A gigantic Arab horseman i 
offered him single combat, and broke his shield by way j 
of challenge. Godfrey rose in his stirrups, and smote \ 
the Arab on the shoulder with such tremendous force as ! 
to split his whole body in twain ; half of which, with the i 
head, fell into the river Orontes, while the remainder, yet ; 
clinging to the terrified horse, was carried back into the i 
city. 

Notwithstanding all these exploits, the Turks held out, ■ 
and were only defeated at last by stratagem. This was ! 
achieved by the skill of Boemond, who intrigued with 1 
Phirous, one of the leaders of the garrison, for the sur- I 
render of the city, upon favorable terms to himself, j 
Boemond stipulated with his fellow-chiefs that the prin-'l 
cipality of Antioch should be granted him in return for 
his services ; and after some opposition, this was con- ' 
ceded. Phirous managed the perilous task of admitting j 
the Crusaders with the utmost adroitness. At the dead i 
of night the walls were scaled by Boemond and his fol- ; 
lowers ; and Antioch was taken, in June, 1098, after a : 
siege of eight months. Accien, its prince, and 6,000 i 
Turks, are said to have fallen on this eventful night. 

The Crusaders had no sooner obtained this signal sue- i 
cess than they were in their turn besieged by an army ; 
raised by the Sultans of Mossoul and other cities. An- ' 
tioch had just sustained so long a siege, that the Chris- \ 
tians found scarcely any provisions on their entrance, , 
and their besiegers now cut off all supplies from without. | 



GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 63 

Famine soon raged in the city to such an extent, that 
horses, roots, leaves, leathern shoes, and even human 
bodies, were eagerly devoured by the starving soldiers. 
Godfrey shared his scanty meals with his comrades, and 
is related to have slain his last charger for food. Deser- 
tions from the ranks now occurred in great numbers, and 
despair led many to blaspheme who were ashamed to fly. 
To add to the misery of the Christians, they learnt that 
the Emperor Alexius, who was advancing with reinforce- 
ments, had judged their case hopeless, and retraced his 
steps. The city was now scarcely defended, and many 
proposed to surrender it, even on degrading terms, so 
that their lives were spared. 

Godfrey and the clergy again exerted themselves suc- 
cessfully. Rehgion, though under the form of supersti- 
tion, proved the defence of the Crusaders. Miracles and 
revelations, it was believed, were vouchsafed, to cheer 
their hearts with a sense of Divine support. The Saviour 
and the Virgin appeared in person to one of the Lombard 
priests, and assured him of the final triumph of the Cru- 
sade. The iron lance, which had pierced the Reedemer's 
side, was found buried near the altar of one of the city 
churches, in the very spot which had been revealed to 
another priest by St. Andrew in a vision. These an- 
nouncements, whether the result of fraud or delusion^ had 
the effect of stimulating the enthusiasm of the besieged to 
an extraordinary pitch. They ventured to challenge the 
Turkish army to a combat of picked troops ; and when 
the proposal was spurned, boldly advanced to attack the 
whole force. The appearance of the Crusaders, as they 
marched out of the city, must have been indeed pitiable. 



64 GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 

Privations had so reduced them, that many had no cloth- 
ing. Some were nearly fainting from weakness. The 
barons and knights proceeded chiefly on foot ; and camels 
and asses supplied the place of horses to most of those 
who rode. Yet the burning zeal of the Christians made 
the march seem like a triumphal procession ; and while 
the clergy sang hymns of consolation and victory, the sol- 
diers responded with the war-cry, " It is God's will ! It 
is God's will!" The Turkish general, fearing nothing 
from an army so scantily provided with the means of war, 
was taken by surprise, but hastily arranged liis troops in 
order of battle. The sight of several natural prodigies, 
such as the sudden appearance of a meteor, and the favor- 
able direction of the wind, acting upon the superstitious 
fancy of the Christians, impelled them to extraordinary 
exertions. The Moslem forces, on the other hand, were 
weakened by the existence of rivalries and discords in 
their midst, and lacked the stimulus which the Christians 
derived from desperation. The attack was commenced 
by a volley of arrows, followed by a charge of the Turk- 
ish and Ai-abian archers, which the Crusaders not only 
steadily sustained, but vigorously returned. Godfrey, 
who commanded their right wing, broke the left wing of 
the Moslem; but the latter had encompassed the river 
with a large force, and attacked the Christians in the 
rear. In spite of the heroism of Godfrey and Tancred, 
who slaughtered all that ventured to compete with them, 
and the brave resistance of the whole army, the enemy 
was evidently gaining ground, when (according to the 
historians) three horsemen, in brilliant armor, suddenly 
appeared at the head of a reinforcement descending from 



GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 65 

the adjacent mountains. Some of the clergy seized on 
this circumstance to reanimate the Crusaders. " Behold 
your heavenly succor!" cried a bishop. "Heaven has 
sent the holy martyrs, George, Demetrius, and Theodore 
to fight for you ! " As he spoke, the whole army seemed 
inspired with irresistible strength ; and, shouting the well 
known war-cry, made another vigorous charge, which 
broke the Moslem ranks. The Sultan of Mossoul fled, 
and his immense force dispersed in the utmost disorder. 
The extravagant number of 100,000 is said to have fallen 
in tliis. engagement. 

The Crusaders, instead of proceeding at once to Jeru- 
salem, remained for several months in Antioch, employ- 
ing the time in re-establishing Clu-istianity in that city, 
and sending to their brethren in the West for further aid. 
The delay was prejudicial ; as the disputes between the 
rival chiefs, which the din of war had silenced, again 
broke out, and disease committed terrible ravages in the 
camp. Certain expeditions, however, were made in the 
neighborhood, and several towns fell into the hands of the 
Clu'istians. Meantime, news arrived that an army of 
Egyptian Arabs — who acknowledged the Fatimite Ca- 
liphs, and had as yet resisted the attempt of the Turks to 
usurp dominion over all the followers of the Prophet — 
had captured Jerusalem. The Crusaders, filled with in- 
dignation, resumed their march to the Holy City, con- 
quering on their way several towns. Ambassadors were 
sent from the Caliph of Cairo with superb presents to the 
Christian leaders, and proposals of peace between them 
and the Egyptians. But Godfrey would not be bribed 
to accept the humiliating terms proposed ; one of wliich 

E 



66 GODFKEY DE BOUILIX)N. 

was, that only unarmed Christians should be admitted 
into the city. The ambassadors were sent back with the 
answer that the Crusaders were on their march; and, 
if opposed, might extend their conquests even to the 
Nile. 

By daybreak on the 10th June, 1099, the Christian 
army came in sight of Jerusalem. The spectacle trans- 
ported all with mingled feelings of joy, reverence, and 
remorse. Some fell on their knees and prayed ; others 
kissed the sacred soil ; many wept for their sins ; and the 
air ever and anon resounded with the shout : " It is 
God's will ! " The siege was commenced at once, God- 
frey fixing his camp on Mount Calvary. The Egyptians 
had prepared for a protracted defence, by strengthening 
the fortifications and furnishing the garrison with ample 
provisions. They had likewise ravaged the neighboring 
country, and filled up the cisterns, so as to harass the 
besiegers as much as possible. Owing to these impedi- 
ments the Christians made slow progress. After various 
disappointments, however, they at length manufactured 
engines of great size and strength, shaped like towers, 
which were to be wheeled up to the walls, so as to enable 
the besiegers to enter by means of drawbridges. On the 
14tli of July, 1099, at daybreak, the Crusaders were in 
arms, and at the same moment the assault was made on 
various points. Godfrey stood on his wooden tower, 
which was stationed near one of the gates, and by voice 
and action stimulated his soldiers to deeds of daring. His 
death-dealing javelin never missed its aim. The Egyp- 
tians employed every possible agent of defence, — show- 
ering down boiling oil, combustible materials, and various 



GODFKEY DE BOUILLON. 67 

descriptions of missile, on the lieads of their assailants. 
During the first day the Crusaders were repulsed at 
every point; but on the morrow fortune turned. The 
first half of the day was with the Egyptians, who cast 
lighted torches against the wooden engines of the Crusad- 
ers, and effected the destruction of many. Godfrey was 
as usual conspicuous, and became the mark of repeated 
attacks, — the cross of gold which surmomited his tower 
especially enraging the Moslem. An incident, supposed 
to be supernatural, was the immediate cause of the Chris- 
tians' success. Godfrey and the Count of Thoulousc at 
the same time observed the figure of a knight on the 
Mount of Olives, who with his buckler signalled to the 
Christians that they should enter the city. The two 
leaders, animated by a common feeling, cried out, " Be- 
hold St. George ! " The enthusiasm of the Crusaders 
from this moment was irresistible. Godfrey's tower was 
first pushed close beside the walls, and in spite of flame 
and missile the drawbridge was lowered. Then, accom- 
panied by several of his bravest knights, he dashed into 
the city. Others followed at the same point ; the gates 
were broken down, and Jerusalem was taken. A horri- 
ble carnage of the Moslem ensued, in which Godfrey, al- 
though unable to check, refused to share. His first act 
was to retire from his comrades, and with three attend- 
ants to repair, unarmed and barefooted, to the Church of 
the Sepulchre. His vow was accomplished, and the des- 
ecration of one holy site atoned for by the preservation 
of another yet holier. This act of devotion, so worthy of 
the true Crusader, recalled from carnage those who had 
forgotten their vows in the thirst for vengeance, and the 



68 GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 

whole army, led by the clergy, followed him to the same 
church in penitential procession. 

Godfrey's work was now nearly ended, and his reward 
came. The leaders of the army, soon after the capture 
of the city, held a council for the purpose of deciding to 
whom should be given the crown of Jerusalem. No de- 
cision was arrived at; so many various opinions being 
expressed, and so many interests at stake. Ten of the 
most esteemed chiefs were then formed into an elective 
body, and proceeded to make careful inquiries into the 
fitness of those who were proposed for the kingly office. 
Godfrey took no part, it would seem, in either discussion 
or inquiry, and displayed no sort of anxiety as to his 
own claims. But the clergy and the mass of the soldiers 
were devoted to him, — endeared as he was by a thousand 
memories of his piety, courage, and generosity. On all 
hands the electors heard his praises sounded, and, to the 
joy of the whole army, they concluded their labors by 
announcing the choice to have fallen upon him. But, to 
the surprise of all, he declined the offered rank. " I will 
not wear a golden crown," said he, " in a city where my 
King and Saviour has been only crowned with thorns." 
All that his fellow-chiefs could persuade him to accept 
was the title of Defender and Baron of the Holy Sepul- 
chre, though he did not deem it right to refuse the kingly 
authority. He soon had occasion to exert his power, for 
the Caliph of Cairo had by this time collected a large 
army, and was on his march to Jerusalem. The Cru- 
saders, though unfitted for a fresh campaign, prepared to 
defend their conquest, and, at the head of his troops, 
Godfrey advanced towards Ascalon, where the enemy 



GODFREY DE BOUILLON. 69 

was stationed. A battle took place on the adjoining 
plains, in whicli the Moslem force was routed with terrific 
slaughter. The city itself would have fallen but for the 
covetous spirit displayed by the Count of Thoulouse, 
who, unable to obtain a promise that the possession of 
the place should be given him, deserted Godfrey with 
all his men. A quarrel ensued between the two lead- 
ers, but was terminated through the influence of their 
brothers in arms, — Godfrey being ready to forgive any 
injury to himself for the sake of the common cause. 

The Crusade was now completed, but Godfrey's duties 
as king were yet to commence. He set about fulfiUmg 
them with activity, fortifying various important positions, 
subduing revolts of hostile tribes, dividing the conquered 
territories equally among his generals, according to the 
feudal system, and summoning an Assize, or Assembly 
of his wisest councillors to draw up a code of laws. 
This code, which long remained in operation, amply tes- 
tified to the legislative wisdom of the Crusaders. But 
the new state was not long favored with his presence to 
enforce and exemplify its constitution. In returning 
from a successful expedition against some Ai'abs of Gal- 
ilee, he was met by the Emir of C^esarea, who offered 
him a present of fruits. Godfrey tasted a cedar apple, 
and immediately was seized with illness. He died, not 
without suspicion of poison having been thus administered, 
shortly after reaching Jerusalem, commending to his com- 
rades the care of the holy places, and the state which he 
had founded. His age scarcely exceeded forty years. 

One of the most celebrated and beautiful Italian po- 
ems, the Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso, has " the pious 



70 GODFKEY DE BOUILLON. 

Godfrey for the presiding hero of the glorious scenes 
which it narrates. But there are no grounds for sup- 
posing that his fame belongs to romance rather than his- 
tory. Contemporary writers have painted his portrait 
in no less flattering colors than Tasso has used, and the 
poet's affectionate fancy has scarcely exaggerated the 
tribute which the soberest historian may feel warranted 
in rendering to the memory of the great and good Cru- 
sader, Godfrey de Bouillon. 



'i §traail 



MORAL POWER OF THE CHURCH. 

In 1091, on the day when the renowned Christian 
champion of whom we have before spoken — the Cid — 
died in Spain, a yet greater Clii-istian champion was born 
in France : greater, if only in this, that the weapons of 
his warfare were not carnal. We have had occasion to 
praise Hildebrand for his efforts to restore the dignity 
and influence of the clergy, — fatally as the power which 
he thus conferred on them has since been abused. That 
the work was good in itself we think will be clear from a 
perusal of the life of the warrior-monk, St. Bernard. 

His birthplace was Fontaines, near Dijon, in Bur- 
gundy ; his father, Tecelin, a knight of honorable reputa- 
tion, and so absorbed in his profession that he was com- 
pelled to leave the care of his seven sons, of whom Ber- 
nard was the third, to his wife Aleth. She was a pious 
and gentle woman, strictly attached to the duties of relig- 
ion, and anxious for the spiritual rather than the temporal 
welfare of her children, whom she therefore devoted to 
the cloister. A dream, it is said, had indicated to her 
the future fame of her third son, before his birth. He 
rapidly displayed signs of possessing no ordinary char- 
acter. His education was undertaken by the then cele- 



72 ST. BERNAED. 

brated school of Chantillon and the University of Paris, 
where he remained some years, actively pursuing his 
studies. His mother died soon after his return home, 
and he then proceeded to fulfil her wish, which accorded 
with his own, of becoming a monk. His father and 
friends endeavored to dissuade him from this step, but 
they had miscalculated in attempting argument with a 
youth so singularly decided in opinions and convincing in 
eloquence as Bernard. Instead of being dissuaded, he 
persuaded five of his brothers and twenty-five other 
friends to join him in the career which he had chosen. 
His father and remaining brothers subsequently followed 
him, and the whole family took monastic vows. Bernard 
did not select for his abode one of those monasteries 
whose wealth and splendor had corrupted th6 intention of 
their founders, and softened the severity of the original 
discipline. His motive was truly religious, and took the 
superstitious form then almost inseparable from earnest 
piety. He and his comrades entered the poor convent of 
Citeaux, near Dijon, where the rules of hfe enjoined by 
St. Benedict in the sixth century were observed with 
great rigor. Frequent watchings, fasts, bleedings, and 
scourgings, for the purpose of mortifying the body ; ab- 
stinence from conversation or laughter ; habits of per- 
petual devotion, laborious exertion, and humble obedience 
to the abbot, were the main features of the system. Ber- 
nard undertook the duties of his office with such inces- 
sant zeal, and displayed such amazing control over his 
appetites, that he seriously weakened his health, but at 
the same time enlarged his reputation to such an extent 
that the convent became overcrowded with the number 



ST. BERNAIiD. 73 

of those wLom lie had attracted thither. He was there- 
fore appointed, after three years' residence at Citeaux, to 
head a colony of monks, which was to be fixed in the 
valley of Clairvaux, — a desolate, though beautiful spot, 
in the bishopric of Langres. The tears of their brethren 
accompanied the departure of Bernard and the twelve 
others who composed the band. It was in the year 1115, 
and at the age of twenty-six, that he was made Abbot of 
Clairvaux. His appearance at the consecration is de- 
scribed as that of a corpse rather than a man, so emaci- 
ated with the rigors of devotion had he become. The 
privations of the members of the colony were most severe. 
The season for sowing had been spent in building the 
convent, and when the winter came they were reduced to 
little better than starvation. Coarse bread, and beech- 
leaves steeped in salt, were their only food. This scanty 
sustenance, together with the strict adherence to the 
Benedictine rule, in which Bernard still persisted, so 
shattered his health, that the bishop of the diocese, who 
was his personal friend, at last interfered, and released 
him from the active duties of abbot. But as soon as a 
brief respite had restored his strength, Bernard renewed 
his self-mortifying practices. A fresh attack of illness 
followed, and he was obliged permanently to relax his 
habits. In after years he lamented the error into which 
his early enthusiasm and mistaken zeal had led him, the 
effects of which greatly marred his future influence for 
good. 

Though debarred from laboring in his own sphere, 
Bernard's energetic mind would not let him rest, and he 
began from this time to exercise the power, which his 
4 



74 ST. BEKNARD. 

reputation for sanctity had brought him, in political life. 
He well knew the nature of the position which he was 
thus enabled to take, and did not shrink from its perils. 
" Bernard ! wherefore art thou here on earth ? " is said 
to have been his constant self-appeal. Poor and unarmed, 
a priest or monk in those days had nothing wherewith to 
oppose the tyranny of the powerful nobility, save the 
weapons of religion and intellect. How strong these 
were we have already seen in the case of Hildebrand ; 
how righteously they could be used we shall see in the 
case of Bernard. In repeated instances he interposed the 
weight of his authority between the anger of a king or no- 
ble and the weakness of a subject or tenant, and scarcely 
ever failed in his object. One of the most remarkable 
examples of this kind was his conduct towards the Count 
of Aquitaine. This nobleman, a man of immense strength 
of will no less than body, and violent and despotic beyond 
his fellows, having espoused the cause of one rival Pope 
against another, dismissed from their sees several excel- 
lent bishops in his territory, who were adverse to his 
views, and supplied their places without regard to fitness 
of character. Bernard, having twice remonstrated in 
vain, after the last interview held a solemn mass in the 
church near the Count's castle, at which that nobleman, 
as excommunicated, could not be present, but stood out- 
ride. The consecration of the wafer was duly performed, 
and the blessing bestowed upon the peoj^le, when Ber- 
nard suddenly made his way through the crowd, bear- 
ing in his hand the Host on its paten (or plate), and 
confronted the astonished Count as he stood at the 
church-door amid his soldiery. With pale, stern face, 



ST. BERNARD. 75 

and flashing eyes, the daring monk thus addressed the 
haughty chief : " Twice have the Lord's servants en- 
treated you, and you have despised them. Lo ! now the 
blessed Son of the Virgin — the Head and Lord of that 
Church which you persecute — appears to you ! Behold 
your Judge, to whom yoiu' soul must be rendered ! Will 
you reject Him hke His servants ? " A hush of awe and 
expectation among the by-standers followed these w^ords, 
broken by a groan from the conscience-stricken Count, 
whose imagination was filled wdth such lively terror 
of Divine wrath that he fell fainting to the ground. 
Though raised up by his men, he again fell speechless. 
Bernard, seizing the opportunity, called to his side one of 
the deposed bishops, and on the Count's recovery ordered 
that the kiss of reconciliation should be besto\ted, and the 
exile restored. The effect of this scene was no-t tran- 
sient, for the proud spirit had been subdued in the Count's 
heart, and he performed penance for his offences by 
going on pilgrimage. 

Various other instances of Bernard's boldness in re- 
buking kings, nobles, and even Popes, might be adduced. 
His most remarkable appearance as a political peace- 
maker was in the dispute which took place after the death 
of Pope Honorius II., as to the succession to the Pope- 
dom. Two rival factions at Rome contended for the claims 
of separate candidates ; one a wealthy and worldly, — the 
other a learned and pious cardinal. Bernard, as we may 
suppose, supported the cause of the latter, who took the 
name of Innocent II. At the Council of Etampes, where 
Louis VI. of France and his nobles were assembled, the 
monk's eloquence prevailed over all the arguments of 



76 ST. BEENAED. 

diplomacy ; and the influence of France was pledged to 
the side of Innocent. Bernard next engaged aid from 
our Henry I. and Lothaire the Emperor of Germany. 
He then proceeded to Milan, where the party of the rival 
Pope, Anaclete, and his supporter, Conrad, Duke of 
Suabia, — Lothaire's antagonist, — was strongest. Ber- 
nard's fame was so great, and the imaginations of those 
who beheld him so fascinated by his force of will, that on 
his way the sick were carried forth to meet him, and 
numerous miracles were said to be wrought by the 
touch of his garments. In INIilan, through his eloquence, 
Anaclete's party was completely vanquished, and the 
Milanese so impressed that they offered to displace their 
archbishop in Bernard's favor. But on this and other 
occasions hie steadily refused any such rank, content to 
live and die in a sphere where he could be more useful, 
if less exalted. He returned to France, after a length- 
ened absence, in 1135, meeting on his way with a royal 
reception. 

He was once more absorbed in the duties of his office, 
as Abbot of Clairvaux, when again summoned to Italy 
by Innocent II., to oppose the power of Roger, the Nor- 
man King of Sicily, whose aid Anaclete had obtained. 
Bernard first passed into Germany, and successfully 
mediated between the Emperor and the Suabian princes, 
inducing the latter to rehnquish their rebellion. Lothaire 
was then prevailed upon to aid Innocent by force of 
arms, while Bernard proceeded to employ force of intel- 
lect in the same service. He first won over, by his 
arguments, many of Anaclete's chief supporters, and then 
accepted a challenge, which King Roger threw out, to 



ST. BERNARD. 77 

dispute publicly in the Court of Salerno, as to the claims 
of the rival Popes, with Anaclete's champion, Cardinal 
Pietro di Pisa. At this public contest Bernard not only- 
confuted but converted the Cardinal, and reconciled him 
to Innocent. With Roger Bernard was not so success- 
ful, and a battle ensued between the armies of the con- 
tending Popes. Innocent was captured, but contrived to 
make favorable terms with Roger ; and a peace was 
agreed to, which was finally ratified by the death of Ana- 
clete in 1138. Another anti-Pope having been set up, 
Bernard used his personal influence with the pretender, 
and induced him to yield. Thus the schism in the 
Church was healed, and the good Abbot returned to 
Clairvaux. 

In 114G he was mainly instrumental in promoting the 
second Crusade. News reached Europe that, two years 
before, the Christian state of Edessa (which, as we have 
already seen, was founded by Baldwin, brother of God- 
frey de Bouillon) had, through the weakness of its gov- 
ernment, fallen into the hands of the Sultan of Bagdad, 
and Jerusalem was again in peril. Inflamed with enthu- 
siasm, Bernard stirred up the hearts of his countrymen 
to zeal in the cause of the Cross. Louis VII. of France 
was readily persuaded to undertake the Crusade, as a 
penance for his crimes ; but the Emperor Conrad of 
Germany was indisposed to exertion ; and to him, there- 
fore, Bernard hastened, rousing the people of France 
and Germany as he travelled through. The frozen re- 
luctance of the monarch could not withstand the fiery 
earnestness of the monk. Conrad is said to have dis- 
solved into tears at the discourse, and eagerly accepted 



78 ST. BERNARD. 

tlie cross which was proffered. While in Germany, 
Bernard showed his liberality of thought, — rare in those 
days, — by sternly rebuking the ignorance of a monk, 
who was denouncing the Jews as the cause of the recent 
calamities. At the Council of Vezelai (in Burgundy), 
held in 1146, Bernard's eloquence was as exciting in its 
influence on his hearers as that of Pope Urban had been 
on a previous occasion. As the speaker, at the end of 
his oration, held up the cross, Avhich was to be the 
badge of the enterprise, Louis VII. threw himself at the 
feet of his subject, and the whole assembly thronged 
round him, shouting the old war-cry, " It is God's will ! " 
Bernard distributed to thousands of eager hands all the 
crosses which he had brought with him ; and finding 
these insufficient for the demand, took off the Benedic- 
tine robe which he wore, and tore it into cross-shaped 
pieces. So impressed were the chiefs of the Crusading 
army with his power over the people, that at a subse- 
quent assembly they even offered the command of the 
expedition to him, — an unwarlike monk. 

He declined the post, on the ground of unfitness ; but 
had he accepted it the issue of the Crusades might have 
been different from what it was. His authority would 
at least have kept in check the discords, perfidies, and 
excesses to which he, probably with justice, afterwards 
attributed the failure of the enterprise. From these 
causes, together with a fatal incapacity on the part of 
the French and German generals, the second Crusade 
resulted in nothing but the wholesale massacre of the 
Christian armies by the Turks. Bernard, who had pre- 
dicted the success of the expedition, was deeply distressed 



ST. BEENARD. 79 

at the unfortunate result ; the more as, with great injus- 
tice, the weight of popular indignation fell upon him, and 
seriously damaged his influence. This disappointment, 
however, did not discourage him, and only served to con- 
centrate his attention for the rest of his life on the more 
immediate duties of his calling. 

These he had never neglected, even while immersed 
in religious politics. By advice and example he greatly 
reformed the discipline of monastic life. He continually 
preached in his own convent ; and, either personally or 
through agents, is said to have founded upwards of sixty 
monasteries in alliance with Clairvaux. Among them the 
Hospice of Mont St. Bernard, in Switzerland, has distin- 
guished itself by loving deeds worthy of its founder. Ber- 
nard was an eminent theologian, both in theory and prac- 
tice, and many of his works are extant. They dLsclose 
very forcibly his strong intellect and warm heart. Many 
of his opinions were most liberal for his age, and he 
rejected several tenets on which the Roman Catholic 
Church has since insisted, with a decision which would 
have ranked him among heretics had he lived a few cen- 
turies later. He manifested, nevertheless, a want of 
freedom in his conduct towards the great Abelard, who 
in that age represented the true Protestant spirit of in- 
quiry into the received doctrines of the Church. Against 
this daring thinker Bernard unjustifiably employed the 
weight of authority which he possessed, to silence what 
he deemed a dangerous boldness of opinion. Towards 
Abelard personally, however, he displayed nothing but 
generous and respectful courtesy, even in the heat of 
controversy ; and it is satisfactory to know that a cordial 



80 ST. BERNARD. 

interchange of kindly feeling passed between these two 
eminent men long before their deaths. 

Many of Bernard's wise and good deeds are recorded, 
which cannot be noticed here. We may refer to but one, 
which greatly influenced the world for centuries after 
his death ; namely, the sanction and aid which he gave 
to the establishment of the Knight-Templars, a body of 
soldier-priests, who devoted their lives to the preservation 
of the Holy Places and the protection of pilgrims. Had 
they faithfully adhered to the statutes which he drew up 
for their conduct, the exhibition of zeal which they were 
designed to make might have been as blessed to Chris- 
tendom as their arrogance was cursed. 
■ A few years before his death, Bernard had the grati- 
fication of seeing one of his own disciples raised to the 
Papal chair, as Pope Eugenius III. The new Pontiff 
recognized his master's authority no less than before his 
accession, and Bernard's counsel and influence were re- 
peatedly used in his behalf. But the over-activity of the 
good Abbot too soon decayed the slender strength which 
his firm will had wrested, as it were, from death, in a 
hand-to-hand struggle, that lasted for more than forty 
years. Always sickly, frequently reduced to the brink 
of the grave, yet perpetually at work, his constitution 
gave way in 1153, at the age of sixty-three. His last 
act was worthy of his life. He was on a dying-bed when 
a discord broke out between the nobles and the burghers 
of the town of Mentz. Bernard rose, and once more 
entered the arena of strife with the olive-branch of peace 
in his hand. The proud barons and the angry citizens 
listened humbly to his gentle words, and shrank from the 



ST. BERNARD. 81 

mild glances of those eyes which his biographers scarcely 
ever mention without calling dovelike. The turbulence 
of passion was hushed, and Bernard returned to die. 
The filial tears of his disciples at Clairvaux, and the re- 
grets of all the nation, followed him to the graye. About 
twenty years after his death a decree of canonization 
awarded him the title of Saint, which, considering how 
it has been disgraced by unholy bearers, will not seem so 
jfitly to recognize his merit as that name which the rev- 
erence of the Church has further bestowed on him, — the 
last of the Fathers. 



4* 



THE GERMAN EMPERORS AND THE LOMBARD CITIES. 

The German empire of Charlemagne was formed by 
him out of five separate nations, — Saxony, Suabia, Fran- 
conia, Bavaria, and Lorraine, — whose constant rivalries 
this arbitrary union wholly failed to extinguish. On the 
termination of his dynasty, in 911, the empire became 
alternately elective and hereditary, — the former, as the 
desire of the people, — the latter, as the ambition of the 
reigning family preponderated. 

Conrad, Duke of Franconia, was first nominated Em- 
peror. On his death without an heir, Henjy the Fowler, 
Duke of Saxony, was chosen to succeed him, and the title 
of Emperor continued* for four generations in the Saxo- 
nian house. In 1002, on the death of Otho III., Henry, 
Duke of Bavaria, was elected ; and on his death, in 1024, 
the choice of the nation fell upon Conrad II., of the Fran- 
conian house. Four emperors succeeded him of the same 
family ; one of them being Henry IV., whom we have 
seen engaged in the War of Investiture with the Popes. 
On the death of his son, Henry V., in 1125, the Fran- 
conian Hue ended ; but the heir to the estates of the fam- 
ily was Frederick, Duke of Suabia. A struggle ensued 
for the throne, and eventually Lothaire, Duke of Saxony, 



FREDERICK BARBAROSSA. 83 

■was elected, — a prince who entertained an ancestral 
hatred to the house of HohenstaufFen, or Suabia. His 
daughter married Henry the Proud, Duke of Bavaria, 
whom he hoped to procure as his successor, and there- 
fore largely endowed. But on Lothaire's death, in 1138, 
the Suabian party made choice of Conrad, the brother 
of Frederick, Duke of Suabia, as Emperor : the Saxonian 
party was compelled to yield, and Henry was shorn of 
all his vast possessions. The whole of German and Ital- 
ian history for centuries after this period is occupied 
more or less with the progress of the contest thus arising 
between these rival houses. It was finally grafted upon 
the old quarrel between the Emperors and the Popes ; 
the latter taking part with the Guelphs — the name of 
the Saxonian family — against the Ghibelines, a title 
given to the partisans of the house of Suabia (or Fran- 
conia), from the name of a Franconian town. 

Conrad III. died in 1152 ; on his death-bed admitting 
the incapacity of his son, and recommending the electors, 
to choose as Emperor his nephew Frederick, surnamed, 
from his red beard, Barbarossa, whose ability and judg- 
ment were undeniable. This prince was the son of Fred- 
erick, Duke of Suabia, of whom we have spoken as the 
heir to Henry the Fifth's estates, and was born in 1121. 
Impelled by youthful enthusiasm, he joined the second 
Crusade, and much distinguished himself for courage. 

Just and generous, accomplished in mind, and gifted 
with a stately presence, he justified his uncle's praise, 
and satisfied the desires of the German nobles. At a 
Diet, or Assembly of both spiritual and temporal lords, 
held at Frankfort, he was chosen Emperor, and imme- 



84 FEEDERICK BARBAROSSA. 

diatelj crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle. Among his first 
acts was the extension of his power in the North, where 
two candidates, Canute and Sweno, were contending for 
the Danish crown. Frederick settled the dispute by 
deciding in favor of the latter, whom he obliged to do 
homage to the Empire. In 1154 commenced the most 
important events of his reign. 

Italy, the darling of Nature, has long been, and is to 
this day, the victim of Man. It would almost seem as 
if, by some terrible law of compensation, Europe had 
been permitted to avenge, by a series of despotic and 
violent attacks, the tyranny which Rome succeeded in 
establishing for so many centuries over the whole known 
world. Pagan and Christian, barbarous and civilized 
. nations, have successively trampled on the necks of the 
Italians ever since the fall of Rome. Foremost and 
latest in the number of their oppressors has been the 
German race, — one opposed in every quality of soul, 
mind, and body, to the Italian. The ground for this 
unceasing spirit of oppression has been the claim of con- 
quest, originating in the feudal sovereignty acquired by 
Charlemagne through his victory of the Lombards. 

This authority was for some time exercised with com- 
parative mildness by his successors, and admitted without 
much opposition by the Italians. Periodical entrances 
of the emperors were made into Lombardy, where feudal 
service was rendered to them, and laws were issued for 
the government of the country. These visits were few ; 
and the distance was too great to allow of the Imperial 
rule being rigidly enforced. Cities and towns mean- 
time arose in various parts of Italy, and rapidly gained 



FEEDERICK BARBAROSSA. 85 

strength ; while, on the other hand, there grew up a pow- 
erful order of nobles, who constituted themselves the 
patrons or the despots of these communities. The one 
were the germs of the famous Itahan republics, and the 
other the ancestors of those who became the kings or 
dukes of the states into which dissension and corruption 
eventually reduced those once free governments. 

The War of Investiture disordered the whole of Italy, 
some cities and nobles joining the Emperor, and others 
the Pope. It served also to distract the attention of 
Gei-many from its distant province, and gave time for 
the growth of republican tendencies in the several com- 
munities. In Lombardy, especially, a large number of 
cities practically asserted their freedom by settling their 
own constitutions, and conducting their affairs on the^ 
principles of self-government. They were stimulated to 
this assertion of liberty by the spectacle of several scat- 
tered cities, which were nominally as well as virtually 
independent. Such were Venice, Ravenna, Genoa, Pisa, 
and others, which originally acknowledged the supremacy 
of the Greek Emperor, but gradually attained their free- 
dom, and were at this time in the most flourishing con- 
dition of social and commercial prosperity. In the south 
of Italy, Naples, Gaeta, and Amalfi had for a consid- 
erable period maintained a republican character, and re- 
sisted alike the encroachments of the Lombard duchy 
of Benevento, which Charlemagne had not reduced,' and 
the inroads of the Saracens, who from time to time rav- 
aged Sicily and the Neapolitan coast. Before the acces- 
sion of Frederick, however, the Normans had displaced 
the Saracens, and subjugated not only these three repub- 



86 FEEDEEICK BARBAEOSSA. 

lies, but all Southern Italy and Sicily likewise. Rome, 
under its spiritual lord and municipal constitution, en- 
joyed, like the North Italian cities, a virtual independence 
of the German Emperor ; while Florence, Bologna, and 
other communities, were still more unshackled. 

Such was the state of Italy when Frederick Barbarossa 
ascended the throne. A long period of strife between the 
the two powers which they had reason to fear, as their 
temporal and spiritual tyrants, had enabled the Lombard 
cities to acquire no little strength. Their commerce was 
extensive, their armies well disciplined, their fortifications 
secure. They kept in check the pride and violence of 
the neighboring nobility by forming leagues among them- 
selves, which soon extended to an important and formida- 
ble association of interests. Yet these alliances, which 
naturally involved the domination of one of the larger 
cities over the smaller, often led to collisions. Milan and 
Pavia, for example, were constant rivals, and the minor 
states in their vicinity enrolled themselves under one or 
other of these powerful leaders. The injustice of the 
former towards Lodi, which in 1111 the Milanese razed 
to the ground for resisting their commands, gave occasion 
to the attempts of Frederick Barbarossa on the liberty of 
Italy at large. He had been bred and encouraged in the 
belief that to him, as the successor of the Roman and 
Frank Emperors, of right belonged the sovereignty of the 
world. The self-assertion of a city like Milan, therefore, 
must have seemed to him the height of arrogance ; and 
he took occasion of the first act of misgovernment on its 
part to vindicate his authority. In 1154, two of the in- 
habitants of Lodi, which had remained in slavery since 



FREDEEICK BARBAROSSA. 87 

its fall, made an expedition into Germany, and laid a 
complaint on behalf of their city before Frederick in per- 
son. He contented himself at first with writing a letter 
to the chief magistrates of Milan, in which he ordered 
them to set Lodi free. On the Imperial ambassador ar- 
riving at Milan and presenting his letter, it was read 
aloud by the magistrates. In the excess of theu- self-con- 
fidence the Milanese tore .the missive in pieces, and so ill- 
treated the envoy that he barely escaped with his life. 
Enraged at this insult, Frederick at once summoned an 
army, and in October, 1154, made his appearance on the 
Italian side of the Alps. He held a Diet on the plains 
of Roncagha, near Piacenza, w^here that assembly was 
usually held, and was met by numerous complaints of the 
nobility against the cities, and of these against each other. 
Without deciding on the various questions thus raised, he 
set out to visit each place in person. The Milanese, who 
were bound by their feudal service to supply the Impe- 
rial army with provisions, performed this duty so ineffi- 
ciently that the Germans plundered the villages on their 
way to obtain food. The inhabitants of those cities in 
league with Milan fled as he came, and Asti, in particular, 
suffered from the ravages of his army. Tortona was bold 
enough to resist the orders of Frederick that it should 
relinquish its alliance. He thereupon laid siege to the 
city, which a body of Milanese troops aided to defend. 
The garrison held out for more than two months with the 
utmost courage ; but water at last fell short, and the in- 
habitants agreed to surrender. Frederick spared their 
lives, and allowed them to withdraw to Milan with the 
personal effects which each could caiTy, but dismantled 



88- FREDEEICK BARBAROSSA. 

and burnt the city. Dreading probably the chance of 
defeat if he attacked Milan itself, the Emperor proceeded 
to Pavia, where he received the iron crown of Lombar- 
dy, and then marched to Rome. Though ill-received by 
the Romans generally, he manifested a cordial spirit to- 
wards Pope Adrian IV., who in his turn was friendly, 
having reasons of his own for peace, to which he attached 
a condition. 

Frederick was anxious to be crowned with the golden 
crown of Rome ; but before this ceremony was performed, 
and even before he could obtain the accustomed " kiss of 
peace," he had to consent to a humiliating mark of hom- 
age to his spiritual superior, namely, to hold the stirrup 
of the Pope as he sat on horseback. The Emperor 
thought it wise to yield this point, and was accordingly 
crowned in the Vatican. Rome was at this time disturbed 
by the contests of those who looked upon the Pope as 
their temporal governor no less than Head of the Church, 
with those who had been roused by the eloquence of Ar- 
nold of Brescia to desire a republic. Arnold was a pupil 
of Abelard, and a reformer both in religion and politics. 
The Pope feared and hated him on both accounts, as he 
had considerable influence with the people. Before Fred- 
erick's entrance an embassy of the republican party met 
him, and in somewhat high-flown language vaunted the 
glories of the Eternal City. Frederick answered, with 
conscious pride, that the dignity of Rome had been trans- 
ferred from Italy to Germany, whose sons were now the 
true representatives of the old Romans ; and the ambas- 
sadors gained nothing from the interview. Urged by the 
Pope, who doubtless painted in the blackest colors the 



\'\lWP%': 




FEEDERICK BARBAROSSA. 89 

danger of Arnold's teachings, Frederick delivered hira 
up, and the unfortunate man was burnt alive before the 
city gates. One would fain acquit the Emperor of sanc- 
tioning this barbarity. It led to a vain attempt at revo- 
lution by the Romans, which nearly proved fatal to Fred- 
erick ; but it was soon crushed, and he withdrew to the 
mountains. Spoleto being remiss in providing supplies 
to his troops, he captured and burnt it, — an act of cru- 
elty which exasperated the Lombard cities. His army 
was now weakened by losses and sickness, and he there- 
fore returned home by way of Verona and the Tyrol. 
The Veronese refused his troops admittance, but made 
him a bridge of boats across the river Adige. This only 
just served to land the army in safety, and then broke 
by the violence of the current. Frederick attributed this 
disaster to intention on the part of the Veronese, and it 
added to his wrath against the Italians generally. He 
returned to Germany, and occupied some time in prepar- 
ing another and yet more powerful army. He found af- 
fairs, moreover, in Germany which required his presence. 
It was at this period that he performed the generous act 
of restoring Henry the Lion, son of Henry the Proud, to 
the duchy of Bavaria and other ancestral possessions, of 
which, as has been stated, Conrad had deprived the Sax- 
onian house. 

During the interval the Lombards recovered them- 
selves. Tortona and other cities wliich Frederick had 
destroyed were rebuilt by the bold Milanese, who gloried 
in their advocacy of the cause of liberty against despot- 
ism, and provoked a fresh vengeance from the Emperor, 
by attacking Pavia and other cities which had supported 



90 FEEDERICK BARBAROSSA. 

him. In 1158 he had completed his duties in Germany, 
and collected a prodigious army, which eagerly gathered 
round him who was regarded as the rightful avenger of 
rebellion against German supremacy. By all the Alpine 
passes at once he poured his troops into Lombardy, and 
advanced to IMilan by way of Brescia. This city was in 
alhance with its great sister, but the inhabitants were so 
terrified at the aspect of the Imperial army that they 
consented to break off the connection and pay a large 
ransom. Milan resolved to resist. The bridges of the 
river Adda were fortified, — but to no purpose, for Fred- 
erick's cavalry swam across the stream, and having cap- 
tured one of the bridges, the whole army entered the 
Milanese territory. Having summoned assistance from 
Pavia and other cities, and ordered the rebuilding of 
Lodi, he laid siege to Milan in August, 1158. Finding 
its walls too strong to be beaten down he cut off the 
supplies of food, and reduced the mhabitants by famine. 
One of the neighboring nobles at last proposed terms 
of mediation, which were agreed on. The Milanese 
preserved their city from injury, and even from the en- 
try of the Germans, and were allowed to retain their 
self-government and some of their allies, but agreed tc 
pay a heavy tribute and homage to the Emperor, and 
guarantee the freedom of Lodi and Como. At a Diet 
of the kingdom, hov^^ever, held at Roncaglia, a month or 
two after this treaty, Frederick announced a novel system 
of government, which in the opinion of Milan subverted 
its whole constitution. Instead of the Italian cities hav- 
ing consuls as before, a single foreigner, to be chosen by 
the Emperor, and called a Podesta, was to administer 



FEEDERICK BAEBAROSSA. 91 

justice. Other ordinances were made, which seriously 
injured the Milanese ; among them a decree for alter- 
ing the boundaries of cities, whereby those of Milan no 
longer included the town of Monza and other ancient 
possessions. 

The Milanese were so displeased with what they con- 
sidered' Frederick's breach of faith, that they expelled 
the Imperial Podesta on his arrival, and prepared for 
war. The Emperor did not at once attack the city, but 
after denouncing it as rebelhous, at a Diet held in 1159, 
he attempted to reduce its allies. Of these Crema was 
among the most faithful, a small but strongly built and 
well-manned town. It was besieged by Frederick him- 
self, assisted by troops sent from the Ghibeline city of 
Cremona, and heroically defended by the garrison, of 
wliich a portion was Milanese. The siege lasted six 
months, in spite of the Emperor's utmost endeavors. 
He was not naturally cruel, but on this occasion, either 
for the sake of making an example, or exasperated be- 
yond his wont, was betrayed into deeds of great barbar- 
ity. He hanged Avithin sight of the town some of the 
hostages which Milan and Crema had sent to his camp. 
Others were children and members of the highest families 
in Crema. These he ordered to be bound to a tower, — 
similar to that which we have seen was used by Godfrey 
de Bouillon at the siege of Jerusalem, — and thus drawn 
up to the side of the walls. By this stratagem he hoped 
to soften the rebels into submission, or to obtain an en- 
trance into the city. But he mistook the characters of 
those against whom he fought, — true descendants as 
they were of Brutus and Manlius. It must have been 



92 FREDERICK BARBAROSSA. 

fearful to watch the faces of fathers and sons thus brought 
close to each other under circumstances so strange and 
tragical. Not a thrust from lance or sword, not a cast 
from a sling or an arrow's shot, could be made by the 
besieged without wounding or killing their children. Yet 
the patriot would not give way to the father. Many thus 
terribly situated prayed that they might be put fo death 
by their fellow-citizens ; but all united to urge the chil- 
dren to meet their fate bravely. The assault was made, 
and the tower with its precious burden was driven back, 
after nine youths had been slain. The miseries of priva- 
tion from food at last compelled the Cremese to surrender. 
The city was pillaged, but Frederick permitted the garri- 
son to retire to Milan. 

Many of the Germans returned home after this suc- 
cess, but the Emperor remained in Italy, and, with the 
aid of Pavia and other Ghibeline cities, carried on the 
blockade of Milan for a year, vigorously preventing the 
entrance of provisions, and destroying the neighboring 
country. In June, 1161, he was joined by a large Ger- 
man army, and so exhausted the Milanese by famine that 
in March, 1162, they were forced to yield. All expected 
some signal vengeance would be wreaked on a city which 
had revolted so often, and withstood so long. A month 
passed before Frederick gave his decision. It was one 
of mingled severity and mercy. " Milan," he declared, 
" shall be a desert ; but the inhabitants may, if they will, 
settle in four villages outside the walls, and at a distance 
of ten miles from each other." He then returned to 
Germany. The city was razed to the ground, and the 
people dispersed ; some near the site of their old dwell- 



FKEDERICK BAEBAROSSA. 93 

ings ; others in various cities, both Ghibeline and Guelph. 
Here the fame of their bold deeds preceded them, and the 
endurance of Milan excited the highest admiration in 
men of both parties. The oppression of the Podestas 
and the burden of taxation further alienated the Ghibel- 
ine cities from the Emperor, and strengthened the growth 
of liberty. The Lombard cause was now taken up by 
one of the rival Popes, Alexander III., whom, on the 
death of Adrian IV., in 1159, half the conclave of Car- 
dinals had elected, in opposition to Victor III., chosen by 
the other half, and supported by the Emperor. The two 
Popes respectively held councils, and excommunicated 
each other. Alexander fled to France, and obtained 
recognition from nearly all the European states save 
Germany. Victor, nevertheless, remained at Rome, and 
rehed on the Emperor's alliance. 

In 1163 Frederick visited Italy once more, attended 
by a small force and a train of nobles, with which he trav- 
elled, as if in triumph. But meantime the chief cities 
of Lombardy and Venetia — some of wdiich, as Cre- 
mona, had previously been Ghibeline, and others, as 
Verona, had kept aloof from the war — entered into a 
league to defend themselves, and endeavor to diminish 
the Imperial power. Frederick was on his way towards 
Rome, with the intention of supporting Victor III. by 
his presence ; but hearing of the League, stopped, and 
summoned the Ghibeline cities to supply an army against 
it. But he soon discovered that they appreciated liberty 
too much to be anxious about his interests ; and meeting 
with no sufficient response, he returned home in anger. 

For some time his attention was occupied in Germany 



94 FEEDEEICK BAEBAEOSSA. 

and France, to tlie exclusion of Italian affairs. Nego- 
tiations were pending between liim and Louis VII. of 
France, for the purpose of putting an end to tlie contest 
between the rival Popes, when, in 1164, Victor III. died. 
Finding that his ambassador had, without consulting him, 
agreed with the Imperialist party of Cardinals to choose 
Paschal III. as Pope, Frederick broke off negotiations, 
and sanctioned the new appointment. Meantime, how- 
ever, Alexander III. had returned to Italy, and employed 
all his influence with the Norman King of Sicily, as well 
as the Lombard cities, to resist the Emperor's tyranny. 
It was time for Frederick to bestir himself, and accord- 
ingly, in October, 1166, he marched over the Grison 
Alps to Lodi. Plere he held a Diet, and promised to 
redress any acts of injustice that his officers had com- 
mitted. Finding himself in need of assistance from the 
Italians of his own party, he proceeded into Tuscany, 
where the Ghibelines were numerous. But the cause 
of liberty had taken root here, and in Romagna also, and 
he was disappointed of the support he expected. Ancona 
resisted his entrance, and he was obliged to take hostages 
from Bologna as pledges of fealty. He determined, there- 
fore, to march to Rome. On arriving, he was opposed by 
a Roman army, which Alexander, who was master of the 
city, had collected for his defence. Frederick's German 
troops defeated the Italians, and he obtained possession of 
the suburb outside the Vatican. Alexander fled, and Pas- 
chal III. was solemnly installed as Pope, exercising his 
pontifical authority by crowning anew Frederick and his 
Empress Beatrice. 

It was now the summer of 1167, when that wild and 



FREDERICK BARBAROSSA. 95 

beautiful plain wliich surrounds Rome, known as the 
Campagna, is always pestilential. A terrible fever broke 
out in the German camp, several of the most able and 
valiant nobles, witli thousands of knights and soldiers, 
falhng victims. The Emperor, therefore, hastily left the 
city, returning into Tuscany with a shattered and contin- 
ually lessening force. He was refused admittance by 
the small town of Pontremoli, and actually was too weak 
to force a passage. He crossed the Apennines by a diffi- 
cult route, and reached Pa via in September. 

During the past year the Lombard cities had strength- 
ened their confederation into a compact and formidable 
body. It was called " The League of Lombardy," and 
both Guelph and Ghibehne cities were members. Its 
object was the preservation of liberty, which the Em- 
peror's aim, as his former partisans now clearly saw, was 
to destroy. Cremona, which had helped to raze the 
walls of Milan, proved its sincere recantation of error 
by proposing to the League that the great city, which 
had defended the common cause so bravely, should be 
rebuilt. This was accordingly done in the cour>e of a 
few weeks, so strenuously did the citizens of all the con- 
federated towns labor at this generous task. Milan was 
again fortified, and its dispersed inhabitants flocked within 
the walls. Such were the tidings which reached Fred- 
erick's ears when, saddened and mortified by the loss of 
his brave army, he reached Pavia. He angrily sum- 
moned a Diet of his Ghibeline allies ; but Pavia, Como, 
No vara, and Vercelli, alone sent deputies. His spirit 
was roused at the obstinate determination manifested by 
the League ; and though, in truth, almost powerless 



96 FKEDERICK BARBAROSSA. 

against it, lie would not yield. He addressed the assem- 
bly in a violent and haughty speech, and concluded by 
an imperious challenge to his rebel subjects, throwing 
down his glove on the floor, and defying them to battle. 
During the winter he tested his strength against theirs : 
finding his weakness but too apparent, he hastily termi- 
nated the campaign in March, 1168, and returned into 
Germany. 

Here he found enough to occupy him for six years. 
He obtained the consent of the nobles to the coronation 
of his son Henry, a child of five years old, as King of 
the Romans, in 1169, — a step probably taken to secure 
the future possession of his Italian rights. Discords be- 
tween Henry the Lion, head of the Saxonian house, and 
other princes, and a revolt of the Duke of Poland, de- 
manded the interference and authority of Frederick, and 
prevented his personal presence in Italy. But at last he 
felt the necessity of taking measures to recover his lost 
ground in that country, which daily became more and 
more alienated from him. Novara, Como, and other 
Ghibeline cities had joined the League, which was fo- 
mented by the influence of Alexander III., and rapidly 
increased in strength. 

In honor of the Pope, and as a protection against the 
yet powerful party of the Imperialists in Pavia, a new 
city was built in the plain, near the spot where the 
rivers Tanaro and Bormida join their waters. It was 
called Alessandria ; and though rapidly built, was amply 
peopled and fortified. Another anti-Pope, Calixtus HI., 
had been set up by the Ghibelines, on the death of Pas- 
chal, against Alexander ; but the cause of the latter was 



FREDERICK BARBAROSSA. 97 

gaining ground, and on all bands Frederick's supporters 
deserted him. 

In 1173 he sent an army, under Christian, the Arch- 
bishop of Mentz, into Tuscany. The prelate succeeded 
in animating some members of the Ghibeline party there 
by intrigues and bribes ; promising the Emperor's aid to 
those cities wliich desired to be revenged on their per- 
sonal foes ; flattering the despotic nobles, and humbling 
the independent burghers. Ancona boldly resisted all 
attempts to seduce it from the League, and Christian 
accordingly besieged it in 1174, with a Tuscan army. 

The citizens, secure in their sense of right, and con- 
fiding in the promised succor of their confederates, as 
well as in the natural strength of the town, held out 
bravely. Blockaded both by land and sea, cut off from 
all supplies from without, and as yet unassisted by their 
allies, the Anconese were reduced to the utmost extremity 
of famine. Rock-herbs, shell-fish, and even leather, were 
eagerly eaten by the starving garrison. A touching in- 
stance of patriotism is recorded of a young mother, who 
offered her breast to a fainting soldier, unable, without 
such support, to fulfil his duty in the ranks. In spite 
of all their privations, the Archbishop failed in persuad- 
ing the inhabitants to surrender. His army was weak- 
ened by losses, and when he saw the beacon fires of the 
Ferrarese, who at last came to the help of Ancona, 
gleaming on the neighbormg mountains, he judged it 
wise to raise the siege and withdraw. 

Frederick was by this time on his way to Italy in 
person, — entering Piedmont in October, 1174. He 
captured Suza, and so threatened Asti that it yielded 
5 G 



98 FEEDERICK BARBAEOSSA. 

without opposition. Alessandria, however, resisted ; and 
for four months its newly built walls, manned by brave 
soldiers, defied his assaults. Baffled by this obstinacy, 
straitened in his resources through the sickness of his 
troops, and menaced by the approach of the League's 
afmy against him, he was forced to follow the example 
of Christian, and raise the siege. 

AiTived at Pavia, he attempted to negotiate with both 
the Lombards and the Pope. They were willing to 
listen to reasonable terms, but Frederick still clung to 
his old prerogatives, inherited, as he said, from his an- 
cestors. He claimed so much that the commissioners 
appointed to draw up a treaty could come to no satisfac- 
tory result, and war was resumed. Joined by another 
German army in 1176, he planned to attack Milan, and 
punish the insolence of her citizens. The two armies 
encountered each other on the 29th of May, at Lignano, 
within a few miles of the city. The Lombard forces 
were chiefly composed of Milanese mihtia, with a few 
aUies. In the centre of the body was placed the caroc- 
cioy or sacred car of the city, after a fashion adopted 
throughout the free Italian states. This car contained 
an altar, at which mass was daily said ; and above it rose 
the municipal standards, flaunting their heraldic colors in 
the sunshine, — the figure of Christ, with outstretched 
arms, surmounting all. Round this holy ark of hberty 
fought a band of young Milanese, who were sworn to 
defend it. They were nine hiindred in number, and 
known as " The Company of Death," from their despe- 
rate patriotism. 

At the first onset of Frederick's cavalry the Lombards 



FREDEEICK BARBAROSSA. 99 

gave way, and the battle might have been lost, had not 
" the Cpmpanj of Death," fearful for the safety of their 
treasure, nobly vindicated their vow. All knelt down 
to renew it, — calling upon God and the patron saint of 
Milan, St. Ambrose, to aid them. Excited to a pitch 
of unwonted zeal, they rose, and charged the Germans. 
The attack was so sudden and furious that the tide of 
victory turned. The rest of the Lombards followed up 
the advantage, and the enemy was forced back. The 
defeat was so general that the camp fell into the hands 
of the Italians. Frederick himself was obhged to flee ; 
and the Empress, who was at Pavia, believed him slain. 
After a concealment of some days, and encountering , 
great perils, he reached that city in safety. 

He was now convinced of the power of the League, 
and weary of ill-success. Having opened fresh negotia- 
tions with the Pope, the two met at Venice, by arrange- 
ment, in March, 1177. But while ready to be reconciled 
to the Church, he could not even yet brook the idea of 
making concessions to his subjects. A truce of six years 
was at last agreed to, during which time freedom was 
guaranteed to the leagued cities ; but a final decision was 
postponed. 

Frederick returned to Germany, after reconciling him- 
self to Alexander HI., whom he consented to acknowl- 
edge in lieu of the anti-Pope, Calixtus. During the six 
years of truce with Italy, the Emperor's active mind was 
not at rest. He had married Beatrice, heiress of the 
throne of Burgundy, and must needs visit that countiy 
to take its crown. He went to Aries, and was there 
crowned with his Queen. He returned home to punish 



100 FKEDERICK BAEBAROSSA. 

Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, who had offended 
him deeply, by ungratefully refusmg to aid him in the 
last Italian campaign. Certain complaints having been 
brouo;ht against this nobleman, Frederick summoned him 
to appear at a Diet of the empire. He resisted, but in 
vain ; being finally banished for seven years, and his 
estates confiscated. This further rupture between the 
Ghibeline and Guelph party led to results which may be 
noticed hereafter. 

Frederick's son Henry was now anxious to secure his 
future rights in Italy ; and this, coupled with the loss of 
the Imperial revenue, which was not paid during the 
truce, induced the Emperor to yield reluctantly what 
he doubtless saw he could not longer withhold from the 
Italians, — a recognition of their liberty. A great Diet 
was accordingly held at Constance, in 1183, and a treaty 
signed on the 25 th of June in that year. By it the 
Lombard League was allowed, and the right of the cities 
to raise armies, fortify their wahs, and govern them- 
selves, was acknowledged. On the other hand, certain 
rights of the Emperor were admitted by the cities, — 
such as the investiture of their ofiicers by his legates, 
and the appointment of a supreme Judge of Appeal. 
These claims, however, could be compounded for by a 
money fine if preferred. Thus ended the first great 
attempt of the Emperors of Germany on the liberties 
of Italy. 

Frederick's power was not really weakened by the 
concessions he had thus made, and in Germany he had 
always maintained order by the wisdom and firmness of 
his government. Peace now prevailed in all his domin- 



FREDERICK BARBAROSSA. 101 

ions, and he took advantage of the opportunity to secure 
their possession to his family. In 1184 he summoned a 
general Diet at Mentz, at which his Empress, with his 
five sons, and a crowd of nobles, both spiritual and lay- 
ambassadors, and knights, amounting it is said to 70,000, 
besides a multitude of untitled persons, assembled to do 
him honor. Here he secured the fealty of the nobles 
and people to his sons, and a festival of unexampled 
magnificence was held on the occasion. Every species 
of rejoicing was celebrated, and the Diet of Mentz has 
never since been forgotten. To this day the Rhenish 
peasants sing the ballads which were composed by the 
Court minstrels at that splendid scene. Anxious to pre- 
serve what he still retained in Italy, and perhaps stimu- 
lated by real magnanimity of feeling, he once more vis- 
ited that country in 1185 ; not now in triumph or anger, 
but dignified conciliation. The Lombard cities met his 
advances in the same generous spirit, receivmg him cor- 
dially and honorably. With Milan he even formed a 
friendly alhance, and won the affection of the people by 
his geniality and frankness. He was less amicable with 
the new Pope, Lucius III., who succeeded Alexander 
III. in 1181, touching the right to the Duchy of Spoleto 
and the March of Ancona, territories always held of the 
Empire, but which the Papal See, in virtue of a grant by 
the Countess ISIatilda of Tuscany, now claimed as the 
" patrimonial inheritance of St. Peter." The dispute did 
not proceed far, as Frederick's son, Henry, had married 
the daughter and heiress of the Norman King of Sicily, 
whose aUiance was therefore lost to the Pope. 

The last years of Frederick's fife were spent, like the 



102 FREDEEICK BAEBAROSSA. 

first, in a campaign of a very different character to that 
in which most of his reign had been passed. The Chris- 
tian kingdom of Jerusalem, after the death of Godfrey 
de Bouillon, had long maintained a successful stand 
against the Moslem states in its vicinity, under the able 
rule of his immediate successors. The unfortunate re- 
sult of the second Crusade did not for some time affect 
its prosperity. The ambition of Amaury, a prince of the 
House of Anjou, who filled the throne in the middle of 
the twelfth century, led him to make an attempt upon 
Egypt, which not only failed, but drew upon him the 
vengeance of its Caliph, Saladin, the Moslem hero of his 
time, and a prince of singular ability. Amaury's succes- 
sors were yet weaker than himself, and quarrels for the 
government ensued ; which, coupled with the licentious- 
ness of other Christian princes in Antioch and elsewhere, 
destroyed the effects of the first Crusade, and left Pales- 
tine once more a prey to the Moslem. Saladin was com- 
pletely successful in his invasion, and Jerusalem fell into 
his hands in 1187. The news reached Europe, where it 
excited mingled feelings of grief, shame, and indignation. 
Popes Gregory VIII. and Clement III. roused Chris- 
tendom to the duty of revenge ; and the third Crusade 
was actively set on foot. 

Under the pressure of religious conviction, Frederick 
adopted the Cross, and with an army of upwards of 
150,000 men marched, in the spring of 1189, through 
Hungary and Asia Minor. The Greek Emperor, like 
his predecessor during the first Crusade, was jealous of 
the success of other European powers, and broke faith 
with the Crusaders, by making a secret agreement with 



FREDERICK BARBAROSSA. 103 

Saladin and the Sultan of Iconium, that every obstacle 
should be thrown in the way of the Germans. But, in 
spite of this perfidy, Frederick's army was victorious in 
two engagements with the Turks, and took the city of 
Iconium. He had advanced as far as the banks of the 
river Calycadnus (or Selef), in Cihcia, when he was 
stopped at the ford by a crowd of pack-horses. Impa- 
tient of delay, though now nearly seventy years of age, he 
set spurs to his horse and plunged into the river. The 
current was rapid at the time, and the Emperor's strong 
charger struggled in vain against it. In the sight of his 
army the gallant old man was swept down out of reach, 
stunned against a tree which overhung the water, and 
dro\\Tied. This event occurred on the 10th of June, 
1190.* His troops proceeded on their march, after 
duly mourning for their loss; but not many survived 
him long, — his son Frederick, Duke of Suabia, dying of 
fever at the siege of Acre, in 1191, and only a small 
body of the German Crusaders returning home at the 
end of the expedition. The result of the third Crusade 
is well known to all who are familiar — and what Eng- 
lishman is not ? — with the history of our first Richard. 

Frederick was greatly revered and beloved by his 
German subjects, and the common people among them 
long refused to believe him dead. Two famous legends 
have floated down to our own times respecting his fate. 
One describes him as still sleeping in a deep trance 
among the Thuringian mountains, his head resting on 
his arm, his red beard having gi'own through the granite 

* According to some historians, he was struck with apoplexy 
•while bathing. 



104 FEEDEEICK BAEBAEOSSA. 

by which he sits. When the ravens cease to fly round 
the mountain he will awake, and restore the reign of 
good. The other legend places the scene of liis slumbers 
at Salzburg, and makes the blossoming of a mysterious 
pear-tree the token of his awaking. Such fond super- 
stitions imply no ordinary genius on the part of him who 
inspired them. 

Frederick will obtain much obloquy from those who 
regard him only as the oppressor of the Italians. This, 
indeed, he was, but not from sheer cruelty of nature. He 
must be regarded from his own position, — as a powerful 
and able monarch, bred up in a belief that a despotic gov- 
ernment was not only his inheritance, but a Divine insti- 
tution. Much allowance must therefore be made for his 
imperious attempts to put down what he considered revo- 
lutionary principles and practices. As a despot, he con- 
trasts very favorably with our Charles I., who occupied a 
similar position with respect to his subjects. Frederick 
and Charles were both conscientious, however mistaken, 
in resisting the opposition of those whom they held httle 
better than slaves. But Avhereas Charles violated honor 
and good faith in all his deaHngs with the Parliament, 
Frederick's integrity and generosity won him respect 
from his bitterest foes. We have taken him as the hero 
of a principle, which he vindicated with greater strength, 
courage, and honesty, than perhaps any other despot be- 
fore or since. The failure of such a man to enslave a 
few commercial cities manifests with the utmost clearness 
how strong even the weakest may become, by a wise 
union of forces, and the common consciousness of a right- 
eous cause. 



Jfitbtiidi tlje Bmn)i of itnnan^. 



GUELPH AND GHIBELINE. 

On the death of Frederick Barbarossa, his son Henry, 
who was married to Constance, the heiress of the King 
of Sicily, succeeded to the empire of Germany, under the 
title of Henry YI. He Hved but a few years, — leaving 
the crowns of both Germany and Sicily (with which was 
united Naples) to his son Frederick, a child of three 
years old, whose election as his successor he had obtained 
from the German nobles. The widowed mother of the 
young Emperor, anxious to secure to him all his rights, 
appointed Pope Innocent HI. his guardian. That pontiff 
was a true successor of Hildebrand in ambition, if not 
earnestness, and employed his whole life in the steadfast 
endeavor to unite the highest possible temporal with the 
highest possible spiritual power of the Papal See. To 
him Europe owed the persecution of the Albigenses, and 
the Inquisition. He undertook the guardianship of Fred- 
erick, on the condition that the Duchy of Spoleto and the 
March of Ancona (which, as we have stated, were claimed 
by the Popes as their inheritance, through the grant of 
the Countess Matilda of Tuscany) should be surrendered 
to the Church. As really portions of the empire, the 
Countess could not justly have disposed of them, and the 
5* 



106 FEEDERICK 11. OF GERMANY. 

grant was therefore worthless; but Innocent sustained 
his claim by a true or pretended will of the late Emperor 
Henrj, bequeathing these territories to the See ; and Con- 
stance felt compelled to comply. She died soon after- 
wards. But though thus secured in his South Italian 
dominions, Frederick could not obtain possession of Ger- 
many, where a civil war had broken out between the 
Guelph and Ghibeline parties. Disregarding their oath 
to Henry, the nobles of the last-named faction elected his 
brother Phihp, Duke of Suabia, as Emperor ; while the 
Guelphs chose Otho, Duke of Brunswick, the son of Henry 
the Lion, Duke of Saxony. The rival Emperors disputed 
for the title until 1208, when Philip was assassinated 
in a private quarrel. Otho, as the head of thfe Guelph 
house, was favored by Innocent III., whom he conciliated 
by yielding all pretensions tp investitures, &c. He took 
an oath of obedience, and was accordingly crowned as 
Otho IV. But once on the throne, he showed himself as 
much averse to Papal interference as any Ghibehne em- 
peror, and brought down upon himself as surely the 
anger of the Pope. Innocent tried to enforce obedience 
by excommunication, but in vain ; and therefore resorted 
to what he deemed the safe expedient of reviving the 
Ghibeline party in the person of his ward, Frederick. 

The young prince was now eighteen years of age. His 
mental and bodily accomplishments were of a very high 
order. Enterprising, vigorous, brave, and learned, he 
was fitted in an unusual degree for the difficult post of 
Emperor at such a time ; and, to an extent that Innocent 
little foresaw, for the task of grappling with the increas- 
ing power of the Papacy. His immediate work was to 



FREDERICK H. OF GERMANY. 1^7 

. sustain the rights of the Suabian house, and he performed 
it with activity. Marching through Lombardy, and cut- 
ting his way through the Milanese, who refused him a 
passage, he presented himself to the Ghibehnes of Ger- 
many, and was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle King of the 
Germans and Romans. He was well received by all, 
save in Saxony, where Otho's ancestral dominions lay, 
and which still clung to hun as Emperor. A contest en- 
sued, which lasted six years ; finally terminating by the 
death of Otho in 1218. Frederick then succeeded to the 
Imperial dignity without opposition. 

During this struggle the Italian cities had not been 
inactive." The treaty of Constance had secured then- 
freedom to levy wars at will ; and they unfortunately 
abused it to their own injury, by repeated disputes among 
themselves and with the adjoining nobles. The latter 
had now found it poUtic to become enrolled as citizens 
of the neighboring communities ; and their influence in 
the state soon became formidable. 

Allied by birth, marriage, or traditionary sentiment, 
to one or other of the two contending houses, the nobles 
brought with them a pohtical leaven which rapidly fer- 
mented the whole repubUc. Thus it happened that cities 
which had on previous occasions been distinguished ad- 
herents of the Guelph party now supported the Ghibeline 
interests, while a converse change occurred in the politics 
of former Ghibeline cities. The inconsistency of Inno- 
cent III., moreover, created much confusion. Milan, for 
example, which had been foremost in the Guelph cause, 
headed the list as its opponent, despite the excommuni- 
cation of the Pope, whom the Pavian Ghibehnes readily 
supported. 



108 FREDERICK 11. OF GERMANY. 

Innocent III. died in 1216, and the confusion occa- 
sioned by his countenance of the Suabian against the 
Saxonian house ceased. The old quarrel between Em- 
peror and Pope was soon reopened, and the terms Ghibe- 
line and Guelph returned to their ordinary sense of ex- 
pressing the opposite interests of these two potentates. 

There was sufficient cause of uneasiness on the part 
of the Popes, touching the security of their temporal 
power, in the fact of the Emperor's possessing, in addi- 
tion to Germany, the kingdom of Naples and Sicily, so 
long an ally and safeguard of the Church. To dissever 
this union of crowns was a favorite object of Innocent 
III. and his successor, Honorius III. Disaffection in 
the Neapolitan states was encouraged by Papal agents ; 
and the rigor of the Imperial Government, thereby ren- 
dered necessary, was used as an argument to its disad- 
vantage. As a general principle, moreover, the Popes 
exerted all their influence to strengthen the Guelph 
party. 

In Tuscany a Guelph League was formed, of the cities 
of Florence, Sienna, Lucca, and Pistoia, among others, 
though the Ghibelines were predominant in Pisa, and 
still numerous in Florence, which was the scene of fre- 
quent strifes between the rival factions. The same quar- 
rels raged in Lombardy, where the Ghibelines were suc- 
cessful in a battle fought at Ghibello, in 1218. Milan, 
nevertheless, still continued the stronghold of the Guelphs^ 
and soon found occasion to display its hostility to the new 
Emperor. 

He seems to have been fully alive to the nature of the 
struggle in which he was called upon to engage. Far 



FREDERICK IL OF GERMANY. 109 

• 
from shrinking, his youthful ambition was roused at the 

idea of waging a successful contest with a power so 
usurping as the Papacy, against which his great ances- 
tors had so often fought unsuccessfully. The free opin- 
ions which he is reported to have held on theological sub- 
jects may have further strengthened his avowed desire to 
render the Pope no more than the first bishop in Chris- 
tendom. An opportunity of asserting his rights was not 
long wanting. By his wife, Constance of Aragon, he 
had a son, Henry, whom he had already crowned King 
of Sicily. This child he now crowned King of Germany 
also, by the consent of his nobles, so as to unite the two 
kingdoms. Enraged at this act, so fatal to his hopes, 
Honorius complained of it as arbitrary; but his anger 
was appeased by Frederick's assurance that the step was 
necessary for the security of his family, before he could 
undertake a Crusade in which he had promised to em- 
bark at the Pontiff's solicitation. Frederick visited Italy 
in 1220, and Honorius consented to crown him Emperor. 
The ceremony took place at Rome, on the 2 2d Novem- 
ber, 1220. Frederick proceeded from Rome to Naples, 
where he occupied some time in settling the disturbances 
which afflicted the country, evincing much wisdom in the 
code of laws which he drew up for its government, re- 
specting its ancient institutions, promoting education, and 
patronizing literature and art. Honorius, rigorously ex- 
acting from him the fulfilment of his promise to join the 
Crusade, persuaded him (as the Empress had recently 
died) to give countenance to his claims on Jerusalem by 
marrying, as a second wife, lolailte, daughter of John, 
Count de Brienne, heiress, through her ancestors, the 



110 FEEDERICK H. OF GERMANY. 

» 
Counts of Anjou, to the nominal kingdom of that city. 

The marriage took place in 1225, and the Crusade was 
fixed for 1227. Before starting, Frederick endeavored 
to obtain the crown of Lombardj, which the Milanese 
Guelphs guarded jealously at Monza. He summoned a 
Diet at Cremona, but urged his plea to no purpose with 
the obstinate Milanese, whose opposition was secretly en- 
couraged by the Pope. Their refusal was unjustified by 
any acts of oppression on the part of Frederick, who had 
always respected the treaty of Constance, and claimed no 
more than was thereby accorded to the Emperors by the 
Lombard League. His real offence to Milan was that 
he represented the Suabian house, and to the Pope, that 
he united the crowns of Germany and Sicily, and thus 
overbalanced the power of the Church. The Milanese 
renewed the Lombard League, and occupied the Alpine 
passes, so as to prevent any reinforcements arriving to 
Frederick's assistance. He therefore relinquished the 
attempt for a time, leaving it to the Pope, his professed 
ally, to prosecute the claim, and proceeded to undertake 
the Crusade. Honorius, of course, took no steps in Fred- 
ei-ick's behalf, and gave the Milanese an amnesty on con- 
dition of their joining in the Crusade also. He died soon 
after, and was succeeded by Gregory IX., an able and 
learned Pontiff, nephew of Innocent HI., whom in char- 
acter he greatly resembled. 

Frederick was by no means enthusiastic for the Cru- 
sade against the Moslem rulers of Palestine, esteeming 
the expedition foolhardy and needless. Since the con- 
clusion of the third Crusade, which guaranteed to the 
Christians the peaceful exercise of their devotions at Je- 



FREDERICK U. OF GERMANY. Ill 

rusalem, another expedition had been raised in 1198, 
under the leadership of Baldwin, Count of Flanders, 
which resulted only in the temporary conquest of Con- 
stantinople by the Venetians and French, who thus re- 
venged themselves on the Greeks for their perfidies. 
The weakness and disunion of the Christians in Asia, 
and the uncertain fulfilment of their treaty with the Mos- 
lem, afforded ample food for the superstitious appetite of 
the European clergy, who incessantly preached the duty 
of a Crusade which should effectually secure the posses- 
sion of Palestine. Honorius III. had been very active 
in these endeavors, and was especially importunate with 
Frederick, whose absence he desired. Gregory IX. was 
more exacting still. 

After many delays, the Emperor prepared to start in 
1227, when a pestilence suddenly broke out in the army, 
and he himself fell sick. He set out, nevertheless, but 
was compelled to put back, and land at Otranto. The 
fleet sailed without him, but reached no further than 
Greece, and the expedition wholly failed. Aware of 
Frederick's reluctance to set out on the Crusade, and 
perhaps believing his illness feigned, Gregory manifested 
the utmost indignation at his conduct, and excommuni- 
cated him. In the next year, however, Frederick pre- 
pared another fleet, and started in earnest. This seemed 
to Gregory an act of even greater audacity than the 
previous delay, for an excommunicated person was held 
wholly unfit to embark in so sacred an undertaking. The 
perverse Pontiff now threw every obstacle in the way of 
the Crusade, and instructed the Patriarch of Jerusalem 
to oppose the Emperor at all points. Meantime a body 



112 FKEDERICK II. OF GERMANY. 

of troops was sent to waste and disturb the Neapolitan 
states. Frederick heard of this while in the East, but 
would not return without achieving something to show 
for his expedition. He tried diplomacy, rather than 
force, with the Sultan of Egypt, and succeeded in making 
a treaty, which secured to the Christians the possession 
of Jerusalem, and other privileges in Palestine. The 
Emperor then proceeded to Jerusalem, where he desired 
to be crowned. He vainly tried to persuade the clergy 
who attended him to perform the due rites. Not one 
would consent. As excommunicated, he was beyond the 
pale of the Church and the influence of her sacraments, 
and to administer these would be sacrilege. Such was 
the reply given to his command. His proud and daring 
spirit could not brook submission to such authority. " I 
will crown myself, then ! " was his retort, and he per- 
formed what he said, — with his own hands placing the 
crown of Jerusalem on his head, in the presence of his 
army. While returning home, the Knight-Templars, 
who hated him, betrayed his movements to the Sultan ; 
but that generous prince refused to aid in any schemes 
against a monarch with whom he was now in treaty, and 
revealed the conspiracy. 

Frederick returned to Italy in haste after this success, 
and entered his Neapolitan dominions. Gregory was as- 
sisted by a body of troops sent from the Guelph League 
of Lombardy, but the Emperor's force was victorious; 
and in 1230 he not only conquered back his old estates, 
but compelled the Pope to withdraw the sentence of ex- 
communication. A treaty of peace was then agreed to 
between the Emperor and the Pope, in which the Lom- 
bards were included. 



FREDERICK H. OF GERMANY. 113 

The peace was hollow, and each party knew it. On 
both sides active measures were taken to strengthen their 
respective interests. Frederick occupied himself for sojne 
time in his Neapolitan dominions, by carrying out his 
scheme of a temporal government, which should be inde- 
pendent of the overdue influence alike of the Church and 
the nobles. At a great Diet held at Capua, in 1231, he 
announced this system in a code of laws. Its principles, 
which were based on the freedom of the Empire, were of 
course radically opposed to those of the Papacy; and 
Gregory endeavored to thwart the Imperial policy by a 
collection of ecclesiastical laws, published in 1234, accord- 
ing to which the root of all power was the Church. The 
first open quarrel broke out in consequence of Frederick's 
attempt, in 1233, to enforce his legal claim on the crown 
of Lombardy, which the Milanese still withheld. As a 
preparatory step, he summoned from Sicily a strong force 
of Saracens in his pay, on whom he much reHed, as being, 
both from religion and race, quite inaccessible to the in- 
fluence of the Pope. At the same time he stimulated 
into activity the Ghibeline party in the North of Italy, at 
the head of which he placed Eccelino III. of Romano, a 
powerful noble, who held immense possessions in the Ve- 
ronese Marches ; a man of remarkably vigorous intellect 
and practised military skill, but of cruel and mahgnant 
heart. Gregory and the Guelph party had meantime 
not been inactive. They raised up an antagonist to the 
Emperor in the person of his own son, Henry, whom, as 
has been stated, he caused, when a mere child, to be 
crowned King of Germany, — a title equivalent to that 
of Viceroy. During his father's protracted absence this 

H 



114 FREDEEICK U. OF GERMANY. 

young prince had displayed an ambitious and passionate 
temper, which made him an easy prey to the wiles of 
Frederick's foes. In 1233 the Milanese offered to be- 
stow on him the crown of Lombardy, which they had 
declined to surrender to his father ; and calculating on an 
equal support in Germany, Henry summoned the nobles, 
whom he had recently gratified by an edict which ren- 
dered them less dependent on the Empire, and declared 
his intention of seizing the crown of Germany. Before, 
however, he or his partisans could take any decisive steps, 
the active Frederick hastened into Germany, and com- 
manded his disobedient son to meet him at Worms. The 
Emperor's presence sufficed to restore the wavering alle- 
giance of most of his nobles ; and Henry, finding himself 
deserted, dared not persist in rebellion. Relying on 
Frederick's clemency, he came to Worms, and threw 
him'self a-t the feet of his father, imploring forgiveness. 
The generous Emperor gave it, but the ungrateful prince 
took advantage of this clemency to conspire against his 
life. Frederick no longer hesitated to inflict a just pun- 
ishment, and accordingly imprisoned his son in various 
fortresses, till 1240, when he died. The Emperor re- 
mained two years in Germany, during which he married, 
for the third time, Isabella, the sister of our Henry III. 
He employed himself in numerous reforms for the preser- 
vation of order and peace ; some of them too liberal for 
the time, and consequently of but ti'ansient duration. His 
general policy in Germany, as in Italy, was to check the 
violence of the nobility and the encroachments of the 
Church. With this view he forbade, under penalties, 
any acts of tyranny committed by feudal lords against 



FREDERICK II. OF GERMANY. 115 

their tenants, or the neighboring cities ; and confided the 
government of the Geiinan Church to the Imperial Arch- 
bishop, instead of the Pope. The sanction which Freder- 
ick gave to the Feme, or Secret Tribunal of Justice, 
may perhaps be considered a step of doubtful wisdom; 
but it must be remembered that this was founded only for 
the suppression of vice too strong to be openly attacked, 
and was not an agent of the Church. 

In the summer of 1236 he crossed into Italy with a 
small body of cavaby, and arrived at Verona. Here, 
and at Pisa, the Ghibelines were predominant, but else- 
where the Guelph party had widely extended its power. 
The Lombard League had been renewed in 1235, and 
the Este family of Ferrara (allied by marriage to the 
Saxonian Guelphs) aided Gregory in rousing Eastern 
and Central Italy to resist the Emperor's claims. 

The first blood was drawn in Vicenza, a Guelphic city, 
which Eccelino stormed with a Saracen army, captured, 
and plundered with the utmost barbarity. The Emperor 
himself was recalled home in consequence of an attack 
made by the Duke of Austria — a constant rebel — on an 
army which was marching to join the Imperialists in 
Italy. By his vigorous measures, in concert with his 
son Conrad, Frederick defeated the Duke, whom he 
forced to retire into a fortress, and dismembered Austria 
of many valuable possessions. He then returned to 
Italy, where Eccelino had already captured and pillaged 
Padua, the stronghold of the Guelphs in the East. With 
a large body of Saracens Frederick advanced towards 
Mantua, so as to encourage the Ghibehnes, who were 
outnumbered in that city, and then turned to meet the 



116 FEEDEEICK H. OF GERMiVNY. 

army of the Lombard League, which, under the leader- 
sliip of Milan, was stationed between Brescia and Cre- 
mona. By a series of skilful manoeuvres he managed to 
cut off any chance of retreat in the direction of Milan, 
and offered battle to the Guelphs at Cortenuova on the 
Oglio, on the 26th and 27th of November, 1237. A des- 
perate conflict ensued. The Milanese fought bravel}^, 
but were outmatched in foresight and tact by the Em- 
peror, and unused to fight with the warlike and savage 
Saracens. The defeat of the League was decisive, — 
ten thousand fell or were taken, and the beloved caroc- 
cio of Milan was among the trophies which Frederick 
bore away in triumph on an elephant which he had 
brought back with him from the Crusades. 

This success induced some of the leagued cities to re- 
linquish their confederation, and Frederick seized the 
opportunity to strengthen the Ghibeline party in Asti and 
other cities of Piedmont, which he visited in the next 
year. He rewarded with the hand of his natural daughter 
the services of Eccelino, and made another of his illegiti- 
mate children, Hans or Enzio, King of Sardinia. 

Milan, Brescia, and other cities still resisted the Em- 
peror, and he laid siege to the last named for some weeks, 
but its inhabitants defended themselves so bravely that he 
withdrew. The secession of some of the Guelphic cities 
and nobles so alarmed Gregory that he no longer re- 
frained from offensive measures against Frederick. He 
prevailed on Venice and Genoa to join his party, by ex- 
citing their fears for the preservation of their commerce. 
Li 1239 he took the additional step of excommunicating 
his enemy. This engine of attack was among the most 



FKEDEKICK U. OF GERMANY. 117 

formidable and successful that could possibly be used. 
A man of Frederick's independent will and strong nerve 
might and did despise it, and political partisanship was 
often superior to its superstitious influence ; but it had a 
great effect on the minds of the weak and credulous, who 
felt their souls in peril if they abetted the rebelHon of an 
excommunicant against the Church. Frederick himself 
became suspicious of some of his new allies, and they, in 
their turn, fearful of him. Many accordingly, one by one, 
deserted his camp. Following up this advantage, Greg- 
ory promoted an accusation of heresy against Frederick, 
who, being notoriously free, both in opinions and speech, 
may have unguardedly laid himself open to the charge. 

In 1241 a General Council on the subject was sum- 
moned at Rome, and prelates from France and other 
parts of Europe set out to attend it. Frederick mean- 
while was carrying on the war with varying fortune, — 
losing Ferrara, but capturing Faenza. Hearing of the 
intended Council, he determined, if possible, to prevent 
it, and accordingly repaired to the republic of Pisa, his 
faithful ally, and a bitter opponent of Genoa, its com- 
mercial rival. Many of the French bishops had em- 
barked at Nice in Genoese galleys, bound for Ostia, the 
port of Rome. The Pisans promised him help, and his 
son Enzio was recalled from Hungary, where he had 
successfully repelled an invasion of Mongols, to head the 
fleet. Under this prince, and their admiral Sismondi, 
the Pisans lay in wait for the Genoese fleet at the island 
of Meloria, near Leghorn. The assault was victorious, 
three vessels being sunk, and nineteen, with their freight 
of bishops, ambassadors, and money, captured. The 



118 FREDERICK H. OF GERMANY. 

Pisans treated their prisoners with respect, but kept them 
in close confinement. This unforeseen disaster, together 
with the triumphant march of Frederick towards Rome, 
which he besieged, so affected the aged Gregory that 
he did not survive the shock, and died in the summer of 
1241. 

Frederick would not put any obstacle in the way of a 
new Pope's being elected, and therefore set free the car- 
dinals whom the Pisans had captured. Two years, how- 
ever, elapsed before the election was made, and it then 
fell upon Cardinal Fiesco, a Guelph, noble by birth, but 
a personal friend of the Emperor. The latter, however, 
well knew to what policy the Church was pledged, and 
when told of the choice, reinarked, " He will become my 
enemy instead of remaining my friend. No Pope can 
be a Ghibeline." Innocent IV., as Fiesco was styled, 
fully justified Frederick's suspicion, and carried out to 
the full the designs of Gregory, renewing the alliance 
of the Papacy with the Lombard cities, and convoking a 
new General Council. This he fixed at Lyons instead 
of Rome, so as to procure the support of the French, 
who were then ruled by Louis IX., a faithful son of the 
Church. Frederick sent his chancellor, Thaddeus, to 
attend the Council, which met in 1245. This eloquent 
man in vain protested against the unjust charges brought 
against his master, who was accused by Innocent of de- 
siring to uproot religion and enslave the Church. The 
Pope and his party prevailed, and the most terrible 
curses were pronounced against the Emperor. Accord- 
ing to the usual form, the assembled prelates, who held 
lights in their hands, suddenly let them fall to the ground 



FREDERICK H. OF GERMANY. 119 

as the words of condemnation were uttered. Amid tlie 
gloom and smoke of the extinguished torches was heard 
the loud, stern voice of Innocent : " Thus may the Em- 
peror's glory vanish for evermore ! " 

By this solemn act of excommunication — one of the 
most daring assumptions of Papal authority on record — 
Frederick was declared a heretic, his subjects were re- 
leased from their oaths, and even involved in the same 
sentence if they adhered to his cause. The Electors of 
the Empire were empowered to choose another Emperor 
in his stead ; while the Pope reserved in his own hands 
the choice of a King of Sicily. It was now a she^r trial 
of strength between the Church and the Emperor. Fred- 
erick's strong soul was not abashed or unnerved by this 
insulting challenge. He vindicated himself of the charge 
of heresy before the European states, and summoning an 
assembly of his nobles, he placed the Imperial crown on 
his head, and swore to defend it. He performed his oath 
valiantly against fearful odds. The German CImrch, 
which he had tried to render mdependent of Rome, 
turned against him, and the mendicant monks of the 
Franciscan and Dominican orders, who were the agents 
of the Pope and* the Inquisition, travelled through Ger- 
many to excite the terrors of the people, and prevent 
their supporting him. At the same time the Pope caused 
Henry, Landgrave of Thuringia, to be crowned Emperor. 

To their credit, the chief German nobles did not sanc- 
tion this choice, but they generally contented themselves 
with neutrahty in the struggle ; and Conrad, Frederick's 
son, and Regent in his absence, was defeated in an en- 
gagement with the Landgrave's troops at Frankfort. 



120 FREDERICK H. OF GERMANY. 

Frederick, however, was not deserted by many of his 
German subjects ; several of the cities which he had pro- 
tected, as Metz, Ratisbon, &c., proving their gratitude 
by actively resisting their bishops, who attempted to en- 
force the Pope's authority. Conrad was eventually suc- 
cessful over the Landgrave, who fled after being defeated 
at Ulm, and died in 1247. 

In Italy, however, the effect of the curse on Frederick 
had been very injurious to his personal popularity, as 
well as to his political interests. The Neapolitans, whom 
he had governed so well, were disaffected, and the inhab- 
itants of the Veronese Marches, which he had intrusted 
to Eccelino, attributed the acts of that barbarous man to 
his master. Worst of all, conspiracies broke out amongst 
the Imperial courtiers, and Pietro delle Vigne, Freder- 
ick's intimate friend and secretary, was detected in an 
attempt to poison him. This extorted a bitter groan 
from Frederick, who exclaimed, " Alas ! whom now can 
I trust?". In 1247 Parma, whence the Guelph nobles 
had been driven out by the Ghibelines, readmitted the 
exiles. This exasperated the Emperor, who was at the 
time at Turin, negotiating with Louis IX. of France to 
obtain his mediation with the Pope. Summoning a body 
of Saracens from Apulia, the Emperor advanced into 
Lombai'dy, where he likewise assembled the Lombard 
Ghibelines under his son Enzio, and the troops of Ecce- 
lino from Verona. Milan, Mantua, and other Guelph 
cities, both in Lombardy and Central Italy, on the other 
hand, sent men to the help of Parma. Frederick be- 
sieged it, but to no purpose ; his camp was suddenly sur- 
prised by a sortie ; his crown captured, and his soldiers 



FREDERICK 11. OF GERMANY. 121 

scattered. This defeat determined him to secure himself 
in his Sicihan kingdom, whither he accordingly went in 
1248, leaving Enzio to carry on the war. In Florence 
the Ghibelines were successful, driving out, by a sudden 
and concentrated movement, all the Guelph families in 
a single night. But in Eastern Italy Enzio received a 
fatal check. Bologna was there the stronghold of the 
Guelphs, and its citizens, after putting down the Ghibe- 
line party in several small cities of Romagna, turned to 
attack the Modenese troops of Enzio. A battle was 
fought at Fossalta, in May, 1249, in which the Ghibe- 
lines were routed and Enzio himself captured. His 
father, who was much attached to him, offered in vain 
the most costly ransom, — a silver ring equal in size to 
the circumference of Bologna ; but the offer was refused, 
and the young and gallant Enzio, famed alike for his 
talents, beauty, and courage, was kept a state prisoner in 
that city till his death, after a captivity of twenty-two 
years. 

In Germany also the Church was, in great measure, 
triumphant. On the death of the Landgrave of Thurin- 
gia. Innocent put up William, Count of Holland, as a 
competitor for the Empire ; and he obtained assistance 
from Flanders and Burgundy, which enabled him to 
defeat Conrad in 1247. All these misfortunes weighed 
heavily on the spirit of Frederick, who was now waxing 
into years. He endeavored to appease Innocent by of- 
fering to embark in the Crusade which Louis IX. of 
France was then about to undertake, and whose influ- 
ence he again urged as a mediator. But the relentless 
Pope would hear of no concessions, and the gallant Em- 
6 



122 FREDERICK U. OF GERMANY. 

peror was again roused. Eccelino, his son-in-law, and 
greatest general, proved perfidious ; but even this did not 
shake Frederick's indomitable courage. He summoned 
another army of Saracens, and was again successful in 
Lombardy, when suddenly overtaken by illness at Firen- 
zuola, in December, 1250. 

He died in the arms of his son Manfred, at the age of 
fifty-six. His body was carried to Palermo, and there 
buried. Here, in 1781, it was found, when the tomb was 
opened, — the head still adorned with the crown of the 
Empu-e, the hand still holding the sceptre and the ball. 

Though disfigured by many of the moral failings from 
which few in that age were free, Frederick was eminent 
for those virtues which may be called poHtical, as being 
chiefly desirable in a monarch, — honor, justice, and 
mercy. Intellectually he was, perhaps, the first man of 
his day, — conspicuous alike for native power and ac- 
quired knowledge. It is for this reason that we have 
selected him as the hero of the laity in their great strug- 
gle with the Church for temporal supremacy. His reign 
suggests similar reflections to those which were called 
forth by the life of Hildebrand, — the hero of the Church. 

The most powerful Emperor had no chance of success 
against a despotism such as the Pope was able to wield, 
in virtue of his union of spiritual and temporal dominion. 
Thought alone can compete with thought. Frederick was 
personally a match for any Pope ; but he was single- 
handed, and the Church could command the brains of all 
Christendom in its service. We shall see the same fight 
renewed, upon equal terms, when we have to speak of 
Luther, and shall have to record a very different issue. 



FKEDEKICK H. OF GERMANY. 123 

With respect to the Italian republics, it is lamentable 
to remark how speedily those in Lombardy had dechned 
fi'om their allegiance to the principles which animated 
them in the contest with Frederick Barbarossa. They 
fought against Frederick II., not for the defence of their 
liberties, which he always respected, but in support of a 
faction. The result, as we shall see, was fatal to their 
liberties. The nobles, whom they called in as allies, 
proved their tyrants. The Church, with whose cause 
they were content to be identified, asked, in return, a 
surrender of faith and conscience ; and placed a yoke on 
their necks, which to this day has not been shaken off. 



'1 %am. 



THE LAST CRUSADE. 

The leading events of the liistory of France, since the 
death of Charlemagne, have already been alluded to in 
passing, but demand a brief notice separately. The 
throne of France remained in the hands of his descend- 
ants till the year 987, when Louis V., surnamed le 
Faineant, died. Their dynasty had been unable to 
maintain the dignity which Charlemagne transmitted. 
The radical defect in his policy, to which we have re- 
ferred, namely, the arbitrary nature of the union which 
he established between dissimilar races, proved fatal to 
his Empire. Germany and Italy, as we have seen, 
shook off allegiance to his successors, who quarrelled 
among themselves. On the death of Charles le Gros 
(the Fat), in 888, the final partition of the Empire was 
made, and his son was only recognized as King of 
France. This title was indeed but nominal ; for the 
family of a powerful noble, the Count of Anjou, virtually 
governed the kingdom. Through the weakness of suc- 
cessive monarchs, and the encroachments of successive 
counts, even the title at last dropped ; and in 987 
Hugues Capet, Count of the Isle of France and Anjou, 
was duly crowned King. In his dynasty the legitimate 
monarchy of France has ever since descended. 



ST. LOUIS. 125 

The most striking features of the political history of 
France during the tenth and eleventh centuries are the 
conflict of the feudal aristocracy on the one hand, with 
monarchical and democratical power on the other, — and 
the influence exerted by the Crusades on both. 

The feudal system was the natural growth of conquest. 
A territory having been conquered by the chief of a race, 
or the leader of an army, was divided by him between 
his generals, who, in their turn, parcelled out small por- 
tions of land amongst their soldiers. A chain of ties 
was thus created between the Suzerains, or paramount 
lords, and iheu' tenants or vassals. Military service, and 
formal acts of homage, were the symbols of allegiance 
paid by the latter to the former. The lands thus held 
were called fiefs, and were generally inheritable from 
father to son. This system placed immense power in the 
hands of the nobles, who, while recognizing the king as 
their chief lord, exercised an authority over their tenants 
only inferior to his. They erected fortresses; raised 
armies, administered law ; disposed of offices, spiritual 
and lay ; levied taxes ; and coined money at their pleas- 
ure. Their tenants were often cruelly oppressed, and 
in their turn treated their own inferiors as slaves, under 
the name of villeins, buying and selhng them, with the 
soil to which they were attached, like cattle or furniture. 
The whole system was, indeed, but an organized slavery. 
The most powerful noble could not legally marry a wife, 
or transfer his property to another, without a license from 
the king; and during the minority of the tenant, the 
lord might dispose of him in marriage without his con- 
sent. The natural propensity of man to order, and the 



126 ST. LOUIS. 

necessity of some great law of obedience for its preser- 
vation, account for the strong hold which feudalism, in 
spite of its abuses, so long retained on Europe. 

The vigor of the early sovereigns of the House of Ca- 
pet, which had risen from the aristocracy, obtained for 
them an authority over their nobles which had never 
been exercised since the time of Charlemagne. Philip 
Augustus, who reigned from 1179 to 1233, was especially 
successful in his attempts to bend his potent subjects be- 
neath his sway. His citation of our King John, who 
owed him homage for Normandy, &c., to appear before 
him to answer for the murder of Prince Arthur, and the 
confiscation of the English fiefs in France for John's 
non-appearance, were daring displays of Philip's impe- 
rious will. He firmly riveted the bonds of law upon his 
hitherto lawless nobility, and obtained the respect and 
obedience of his subjects generally. To his grandfather, 
Louis VI., the communes, or municipal leagues of France, 
owed their first legal sanction and encouragement. From 
the time of the Romans, who always favored the growth 
of borough interests, several cities in the south of France, 
peopled by traders and artisans, had retained their self- 
government, which made them independent of feudalism. 
Gradually new cities arose, which won or purchased their 
liberties from the weakness or poverty of the neighboring 
barons. But the possession of a warlike soldiery and 
strong castles enabled a feudal lord to injure and oppress 
an unarmed body of peaceful citizens with impunity. 
The French cities, therefore, like the Italian, found it 
needful to league together for their common advantage. 
These federations were known as communes, the members 



•ST. LOUIS. 127 

of which were SAvorn to mutual protection, Louis YI., 
and other Capetian kings, soon perceived the value of 
these bodies as assistants in the work of restrainmg the 
power of the aristocracy. He gave many of them char- 
ters, which legally insured their rights; and in return 
the communes sided with the Crown whenever its inter- 
ests clashed with those of the nobles. 

The Crusades aided much to the accomplishment of 
the same result. In the first place, they glorified the 
character of feudalism by enforcing the principles of 
chivalry. To be a true knight, a man must be devout, 
just, merciful, and pure. Many Crusaders, mdeed, fell 
far short of this high ideal ; but there can be no doubt 
that, on the whole, it elevated the standard of moraUty, 
and checked the rampant tyraimy which had previously 
prevailed. Founded on a principle of sincere though 
mistaken piety, the Crusaders recognized all who took 
the cross as brethren : hence the meanest serf became, 
in some measure, free ; and the same benign sentiment 
extended its effect to all classes. The attraction of a 
common cause in foreign lands further contributed to 
wean the Crusaders from the class quarrels and domestic 
feuds which occupied them at home. Durmg their ab- 
sence, the Crown was enabled to acquire a strength which 
had previously been spent in the repression of constant 
rebellions. And the need of money for the expedition 
obhged many feudal lords to contract with the communes 
for the sale of lands or liberties. 

Such was the condition of France at the commence- 
ment of the thirteenth century. The balance of power, 
however, was only sustained by the activity of all the 



128 ST. LOUIS. • 

parties concerned. The slightest wavering on the part 
of the Crown would be fatal, — the least opportunity 
seized. A wise, sincere, and humane ruler was needed to 
confirm and enlarge the vantage ground which law and 
order had already obtained ; and such a ruler arose in 
the person of Louis IX., who ascended the throne in 
1226. 

His father, Louis YIII., was a man of weak character, 
whose reign was chiefly signalized by the horrible perse- 
cution of the Protestant Albigenses of Provence, which, 
under the sanction of Linocent III. and later Popes, had 
been carried on by Simon de Montfort, and other fanat- 
ics, since 1209. Louis himself had died of fever, when 
about to commence the siege of Thoulouse. 

The Queen Dowager, Blanche of Castile, was a woman 
of great energy ; and during the minority of her son she 
bravely contested her claims to the regency of the king- 
dom with those of Philip, her husband's brother, whom 
our Henry HI. supported. She appealed, not in vain, 
to the gratitude of the metropohs, which the Capetian 
Kings had befriended ; and at her call a large force of 
citizens joined her. With their aid she defeated PhiUp 
and other nobles, who opposed her son's coronation, and 
by two treaties, in 1229 and 1231, she both extended the 
limits of her kingdom and put an end to civil war. Over 
Louis, who was but eleven years old when his father 
died, she exercised a somewhat rigorous, but a holy and 
prudent discipline, to which he was much indebted for 
strengthening his moral and mental constitution. Though 
not remarkable for talents, this young prince possessed 
considerable decision of character, and a large share of 



/^ 






ST. LOUIS. 129 

personal courage. It is, however, by the piety, purity, 
and benevolence of his soul, that he stands forth so prom- 
inently in the history of Europe. A nature more truly 
loving and lovable has. rarely been bestowed on any 
member of the human family. Yet, with all these para- 
mount excellences, his life presents a tragedy, — the fa- 
tal consequences of unreasoning faith. All his errors — 
we cannot justly call them faults — proceeded from this 
prohfic source. Before recording these, it will be grati- 
fying to point out the happier results of those noble and 
wise qualities which have consecrated his name. 

After the treaty of 1231, France remained at peace 
for some years ; during which time Louis married Mar- 
garet of Provence, a princess only inferior in worth to 
himself. Soon after attaining his majority he was called 
upon to conflict with the Count of Brittany and other 
nobles who resisted his authority. At the head of his 
vassals Louis marched against the rebels, and was so 
prompt and energetic in his measures that the Count was 
forced to yield and sue for pardon in the attitude of 
a criminal, with a rope round his neck. Henry IIL 
crossed with an army to support the rebelhon, and re- 
cover, if possible, the possessions which John had surren- 
dered to Philip. The armies met at Saintes, in 1242, 
where the French were victorious, — the rebels subse- 
quently submitting, and Henry returning home. 

In 1244 Louis had a severe illness, which was attended 
with danger to his hfe. During the progress of it, he 
vowed to undertake a new Crusade, should he recover. 
The fulfilment of this vow was opposed by Blanche of 
Castile (who still had great influence over her son) and 
6* I 



130 ST. LOUIS. 

-many of his best counsellors ; but Louis was inflexible 
where religion and honor demanded a sacrifice. 

In 1248 he collected a large army, and prepared to 
start by way of Sicily, the nearest route to Palestine, 
when he remembered that the island belonged to Freder- 
ick II. of Germany, who was under excommunication by 
the Pope. All attempts to shake the decision of Inno- 
cent IV. failed ; and yielding to the pious weakness of 
fearing to rest in an excommunicant's territory, Louis 
changed his plans, and determined to pass by way of 
Cyprus and Egypt, — a route which proved the ruin of 
the expedition. He committed the regency of France 
to his mother ; assumed the staff of pilgrimage, and, ac- 
companied by his wife and brothers, left Paris on the 
12th of June, 1248. He stayed for several months in 
Cyprus, until his armament amounted to 50,000 men, 
and then sailed for Egypt. 

Arrived at the port of Damietta, he caused the ori- 
flamme (the national standard of France) to be waved 
above his head ; and, arrayed in complete armor, he un- 
sheathed his sword, and leaped into the sea, followed by 
his knights. The inhabitants fled, and the French took 
possession of the city. The inundation of the Nile pre- 
vented their further movements for several months. Li- 
centiousness and disease were fostered by this delay, in 
spite of the King's remonstrances ; and their unopposed 
success made the Crusaders careless as to the tactics of 
the enemy. 

On the subsidence of the Nile, Louis fortified Dami- 
etta, and left his Queen and her ladies there, while he 
with the main army advanced on Cairo, the metropolis 



ST. LOUIS. 131 

of Egypt, where the Sultan resided. Near Mansourah 
the Crusaders became perplexed by the intricacy of the 
canals ; and a hasty dash across one of these, made by 
the King's brother, the Count of Artois, with 2,000 men, 
led to a calamitous result. Mansourah was apparently 
deserted ; and the Count's troops, who preceded their com- 
rades at some distance, commenced pillaging the houses. 
The inhabitants, who were only concealed, showered down 
stones from the roofs ; and at the same moment a large 
body of the Sultan's army made an attack in front. Louis 
reached Mansourah in time to save a few of his men, but 
found his brother and several others slain. The Moslem 
camp was captured, but proved a doubtful prize. The 
plains were barren and scorching; and the harassmg 
assaults of the Egyptians, who poured "Greek fire" 
(missiles filled with combustible materials) on their foes, 
rendered the situation more intolerable still. Pestilence 
broke out, and the King himself fell dangerously ill. He 
then ordered a retreat to Damietta, whither the sick were 
to be conveyed in galleys. These were intercepted, and 
the sick murdered by the Egyptians ; while, at the same 
time, an attack was made on the Christian camp. 

Louis was so weak that he could scarcely ride, but 
nevertheless would not desert his post. He rode be- 
tween the ranks, encouraging his men, till he fainted, 
and was obliged to withdraw from the field. His quaint 
and affectionate biographer, the Lord of Joinville, who 
Avas Avith him in this expedition, thus describes the scenes 
which ensued : " Of all his men-at-arms there was only 
one with him, the good knight. Sir Geoffrey de Sergine ; 
and who, I heard say, did defend him like as a faithful 



132 ST. LOUIS. 

servant doth guard his master's cup from flies,— -for 
every time that the Saracens did approach the King he 
defended him with vigorous strokes of the blade and 
point of his sword, and his strength seemed doubled. At 
last he brought the King to a house where there was 
a woman from Paris; and laying him on the ground, 
placed his head on the woman's lap, expecting every 
moment, that he would breathe his last." In this half- 
dymg condition a body of Egyptians found him, and bore 
him to the tent of the Sultan. The defeat of the Chris- 
tians, who were weakened by the climate, disease, and 
want of food, was general ; many fell by the sword, and 
the rest were taken prisoners with their Kmg. 

In captivity Louis showed a noble resignation and 
courage amid the apostasy of many. He won the re- 
spect of the Sultan, who treated him with generosity, 
and listened to the terms of ransom which he proposed. 
The Queen remained at Damietta, which was strongly 
garrisoned. Fearful, nevertheless, of falling into the 
hands of the Moslem, who would have carried her into 
the Sultan's harem, she prayed an old knight in her suite 
to slay her with his sword, should there be any danger 
of that event. « I had determined on so doing, madam," 
was the answer. Margaret's heroism was not put to this 
severe test, for the surrender of Damietta was one of the 
conditions of her husband's release ; and after paying in 
addition a sum of 400,000 hvres, Louis was on the point 
of being set free. An insurrection, however, suddenly 
arose among the Mamelukes, or Tartarian troops, in 
whose hands the real power of the state was placed, and 
the Sultan was murdered. A party of the assassins, it is 



ST. LOUIS. 133 

said, entered the chamber of Louis with their scimitars 
drawn ; but his cahn dignity saved him, and the treaty 
was carried out by the new Suhan. 

Many of the French nobles returned home, but the 
King, faithful to his vow, proceeded to Syria, and spent 
four years in strengthening the fortresses of Tyre and 
other Christian towns, redeeming many Crusaders from 
slavery, and reducing to order the disturbed condition of 
the country. 

The death of the Queen-Dowager Blanche, who had 
governed France wisely during her regency, recalled him 
in 1254, after an absence of six years. He still wore 
the cross upon his shoulder, as a token that his oath as a 
Crusader was not yet fulfilled ; but he never once neg- 
lected the more pressing and necessary duties which de- 
volved on him as a monarch. His immediate work was 
to supersede the arbitrary legislation which the nobles 
exercised in their manorial courts over their tenants. 
He accordingly introduced into general use the famous 
code of Koman laws known as the Pandects of Justinian, 
and constituted the chief civil lawyers, who had studied 
its contents and were best acquainted with its principles, 
into a Parhament, or Court of Justice. The nobles and 
the clergy were duly represented in this assembly ; but 
its clerks, or lawyers, were especially favored by the 
King, who seconded their own efforts to absorb the busi- 
ness of the court as much as possible. Louis further 
mediated between the tyranny of the nobles and the 
weakness of their tenants, by encouraging the practice 
of appealing to the Crown in case of injustice. This he 
even extended to ecclesiastical matters ; a bold step for 



134 ST. LOUIS. 

one so devoted to the Church. The prohibition of the 
barbarous custom of duelling to decide personal quarrels 
was another of his humane laws. These, and divers 
other ordinances, founded in a like spirit of equity, are 
known in a collected shape as the Institutes of St. Louis. 
His enactment touching appeals from the Church to the 
Crown, and the prohibition which he likewise issued 
against the levying of money in France for the use of 
the Pope without the King's license, are known as a 
Pragmatic Sanction, — a term applied to any especially 
important national decree. Louis set the example of 
keeping the laws in his own person, and none was fitter 
to administer them than he. Under an oak in the forest 
of Vincennes, near Paris, often sat the good King to hear 
appeals and petitions from his poor subjects. His social 
and foreign relations were as fully attended to as his 
political reforms. He first placed the French navy on a 
substantial footing. To him Paris owed a public library, 
a hospital for the blind, and the establishment of a body 
of police. Under his sanction, also, his confessor, Robert 
de Sorbon, founded the famous theological college called 
by his name. So scrupulously just and honorable was 
Louis, that he appointed a commission to ascertain what 
restitution of territory should be made to nations which 
had been mulcted by the conquests of his predecessors, 
and he thus more than once sacrificed extensive posses- 
sions for the sake of a principle. By a treaty of 1255, 
made with Henry III., Louis restored to the English 
Crown the provinces of which Philip Augustus had de- 
prived it, and obtamed in return the surrender of Hen- 
ry's rights in Normandy and other fiefs. The reputadon 



ST. Loxns. 135 

which Louis thus acquired among liis fellow-monarchs 
led to his being asked to act as mediator in several quar- 
rels, and gave him many opportunities of exhibiting his 
peaceful and loving policy. 

The mental blindness of which we have spoken led 
hun to commit errors, which, if his misled conscience had 
not sanctioned them, would deserve the name of crimes 
Towards Jews and heretics he showed no mercy, issumg 
severe and unjust laws against them " for the good of his 
soul." The duty of the historian is to record these fail- 
ings of a noble nature as impartially as its beauties ; but 
the evil must, in all fairness, be credited to the Church 
and system which taught, and not to the beUever who 
practised. 

In 1270 the affairs of the East again attracted the at- 
tention of Europe, and recalled Louis to the fulfilment of 
his vow, which he had only postponed. The Greeks had 
retaken the city of Constantinople from the French and 
Venetian Crusaders some years previously, yet the re- 
constitution of the Chi'istian Empire of the East had not 
availed to clieck the aggressions of the Moslem in Pales- 
tme. Benocdar, the Sultan of Egypt, had already taken 
Caesarea and Jaffa; and news now came that Antioch 
had fallen, 100,000 Christians having been massacred in 
the siege. The seventh and last Crusade was at once set 
on foot by outraged Europe, and Louis led the expedi- 
tion, in which France was, as usual, foremost. He raised 
an army of 6,000 horse and 30,000 foot, and was accom- 
panied by his three sons, the King of Navarre, and sev- 
eral nobles of liigh rank. His brother, Charles of Anjou 
(the new Eang of Naples), and our first Edward (then 



136 ST. LOUIS. 

prince), were to join the French in the course of the year. 
Some romantic intelligence that the Moslem King of 
Tunis was desirous of being baptized, induced the pious 
Louis again to try the African, instead of the Asiatic, 
route to Palestine. He narrowly escaped with his life, 
in a tempest which overtook the fleet in the Mediterra- 
nean, but landed in Sardinia, and after recruiting here, 
again set sail, and anchored off Carthage. He met with 
opposition, instead of welcome, from the inhabitants of 
the coast, and was obliged to besiege Tunis. The exces- 
sive heat of the climate and the unhealthiness of the soil 
proved a second time fatal to the army. Plague at last 
broke out, and Louis was himself seized. Finding him- 
self dying, he sent for Philip, his eldest son and successor. 
Placing in his hand a written paper, the good King prayed 
his son to follow the directions which it contained, — di- 
rections for the conduct of his Hfe, as king and individ- 
ual ; enforcing those principles of love to God and man 
which had guided his own career. Then, requesting to 
be lifted from his bed, Louis instructed his attendants to 
strew the floor of his tent with ashes, and place him 
thereon, that he might die, as he had Hved, in an attitude 
of humiliation and penitence towards his Creator. This 
was done, and shortly afterwards, as though in vision ful- 
filling the vow which he was not permitted to realize, he 
uttered, " I will enter thy house, — I will worship in thy 
sanctuary ! " and expired. His age was but fifty-four. 

A few moments elapsed, and the sound of a trumpet 
echoed through the plague-stricken and half-deserted 
camp. It was the note of Charles of Naples, whose fleet 
had just arrived off the coast. Meeting with no response, 



ST. LOUIS. 137 

he rode rapidly towards the tent of the king, and on en- 
tering, saw his body lying still warm upon the ashes. 
The rites of burial were not performed with the usual 
formalities, his remains being distributed among his rela- 
tives. The flesh was kept by Charles, who buried it, on 
his return to Sicily, in the great Abbey of Monreale, at 
Palermo. The bones and other parts were conveyed 
back to France. Those who have visited Paris will not 
forget the exquisite Gotliic structure known as the 
"Sainte Chapelle," which is attached to the Palais de 
Justice, containing the Courts of Law. It was erected 
by Louis as a receptacle for certain supposed relics of 
Christ. The windows of the chapel are entirely com- 
posed of stained glass, and as the sunbeams strike upon 
them, their tints of crimson, blue, and orange, blend into 
a rainbow-like harmony of glowing and lustrous color, 
which recalls the heart of Louis IX., enshrined within 
those walls, as its fitting human antitype. He was canon- 
ized about thirty years afterwards, under the title of St. 
Louis. 

After three months vainly spent upon the siege of Tu- 
nis, Charles of Naples, who, during the illness of his 
nephew Philip, now King of France, had undertaken the 
command of the expedition, relinquished it, and made a 
treaty with the Moslem king upon favorable terms. The 
Crusaders then returned to Europe; the Egyptians re- 
tained their conquests in Palestine; and, though many 
subsequent schemes to recover it were proposed, the Cru- 
sades were never resumed. 

Some of the effects of these memorable expeditions 
have akeady been mentioned ; but a brief notice of their 



138 ST. LOUIS. 

general results will not here be out of place. Though 
barren of final success in their immediate object, and 
probably availing little to extend the sway of Christian- 
ity, they no doubt contributed much to check the aggres- 
sive spirit of Mohammedan conquest, which, as we have 
seen, had frequently threatened Europe. By promoting 
a sentiment of religious brotherhood in Christendom, they 
were of some service in diminishing, though they could 
not subdue, the ceaseless rivalries which previously and 
subsequently deluged in blood the leading European 
states. The unknown land of the East, with its stores of 
learning, wealth, and natural produce, was thrown open 
to the enterprise of the West, and commerce and naviga- 
tion received a stimulus, the results of which have never 
since decHned. To the Crusades we probably owe the 
introduction of novel ideas of art, in the cultivation of 
which the East was then much more advanced than the 
West. Literature was certainly fostered by these events, 
history finding ample scope for narrating, and poetry 
perpetual food for glorifying, the heroism and virtue 
which signalized so many scenes both of success and 
misfortune. The lyrical and narrative poems sung and 
written by the Troubadours of Southern, and the Trou- 
veres of Northern France, are the literary growth of that 
spring-time of imagination which actively blossomed in 
the Crusades. Chanted or recited by the minstrels at 
the festive board of a baronial castle, the mimic battle-field 
of the tournament, or the camp-fire of the bivouac, these 
lays and romances gave a zest to pleasure, a solace to 
weariness, and an impulse to enthusiasm, without which 
the history of the period might have had a different as- 



ST. LOUIS. 139 

pect from that it wears. The growth of municipal liberty, 
and the partial emancipation of the serf, also clue to the 
Crusades, have been mentioned in connection with France 
especially, but were not confined to that country alone. 
And last, but not least of these results, must again be 
noticed the firm hold which the principles of chivahy 
obtained m Europe. The enunciation of precepts so 
ennobling as the laws of knighthood bears witness at 
least to the presence of a moral consciousness in that 
ao^e which our o\vn cannot afford to despise. We can 
scarcely over-estimate the advantage of such a standard 
of honor in a comparatively unenlightened period ; and 
sufficient evidences are on record of the integrity, gener- 
osity, and courtesy, which the Crusaders evinced, — so 
unlike the ordinary practices of their rank and character, 
— to justify us in attributing these effects to that cause. 
Chief perhaps among the best features of the chivalric 
spirit was the romantic enthusiasm which it inspired for 
woman, as an object of reverent, pure, and tender regaj.*d. 
" God and my lady I " was the true knight's war-cry ; 
and if his imagination led him to an extravagant adora- 
tion of the creature above the Creator, it was certainly a 
nobler error than the abuse of power and license of appe- 
tite, displayed by his devouter Moslem antagonist, in rela- 
tion to the weaker sex. The influence that women have 
so beneficially exercised in Christendom, as elements of 
purity and gentleness in the social framework, which the 
the ruder passions of men have mainly conti^ibuted to 
form, may not improbably be attributed to the enthusias- 
tic impulse of chivalric feeling, fostered by the warmth 
and lustre of the Crusades. 



140 ST. LOUIS. 

And as we have taken Godfrey de Bouillon as the first 
hero of these enterprises, we take St. Louis as the last, — 
twin-brothers in earnest devotion, self-denying patience, 
unsullied honor, and cordial courtesy. If the Crusades 
had brought no more result to Europe than the exhibition 
of such virtues and the memory of such names, it had 
been enough for the historian to record, as tokens of the 
presence of God in the lives of his children. 



'§\M^\ of iapsbm-g. 

RISE OF THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 

On the death of Frederick II. of Germany, his son 
Conrad IV. succeeded to the unenviable position of 
representing the Suabian hne of emperors with the 
shadow of their former authority. By the Ghibehnes 
of Italy, and his ancestral province of Suabia, he was 
acknowledged as their head; but the Pope repudiated 
his claims, and the Guelphs flocked to the side of his 
rival, Wilham of Holland. Manfred, the natural son of 
Frederick, assisted his brother in securing the possession 
of Naples ; but in 1254 Conrad's hfe was cut short in 
his twenty-sixth year, by an illness which was ascribed 
to poison administered by Papal agents. On his death 
the Duchy of Franconia made itself free, though that of 
Suabia acknowledged his son, Conradin, as Emperor tiU 

his death. 

The relentless vengeance of the Church pursued to 
the grave all the descendants of Frederick II. After 
the death of Conrad, the kingdom of Naples and Sicily 
acknowledged Manfred as its sovereign. Uniting the 
Ghibelines by his genius and address, he soon proved a 
worthy successor of his father, and a formidable foe to 
the Guelphs. Pope Urban IV., therefore, set up an 



142 RUDOLPH OF HAPSBURG. 

antagonist to him in the person of Charles, Count of 
Anjou, brother of Louis IX. of France. This nobleman 
was of an ambitious and restless temperament, which 
kept France in a perpetual state of turmoil. Louis was, 
therefore, by no means unwilling that his brother should 
accept the offer of a foreign crown, made him by the 
Pope, the sovereign disposer of all temporal titles. 
Charles eagerly caught at the proposal, and, aided by a 
Provengal army, Charles defeated Manfred at Grandella, 
near Benevento, in 1266. Manfred fell in the battle, 
and Charles took possession of the crown. A gallant 
attempt was made in the next year by the youthful Con- 
radin, the last Suabian Emperor of Germany, to recover 
his ancestral dominions in Italy ; but he was defeated by 
Charles, and beheaded with great cruelty. On the scaf- 
fold the young prince threw down his glove ; praying 
that one of the by-standers would bear it to his kinsmen, 
who would accept it as a symbol of inheritance, and 
avenge his untimely death. The glove was picked up by 
a knight named Truches, and carried to Pedro III. of 
Aragon, the son-in-law of Manfred, who, some years 
afterwards, avenged the execution of Conradin, both by 
the re-conquest of Sicily, and the horrible massacre of 
the French in that island, so well known as the Sicilian 
Vespers. 

The death of William of Holland left Germany with- 
out an Emperor of either the Ghibehne or Guelph fac- 
tion. An interregnum ensued ; for the College of Elec- 
tors was divided between the partisans of two candidates, 
— Richard, Earl of Cornwall (brother of our Henry 
III), and Alfonso X. of Castile. Each party tried by 



RUDOLPH OF HAPSBURG. 143 

intrigues and bribes to succeed in its object, and Richard 
having the fullest coffers, won over the largest number 
of adherents, and a partial recognition as Emperor. 

On his death, in 1271, another struggle ensued. The 
title was now admittedly elective, and the power of choice 
was principally, though not exclusively, in the hands of 
an Electoral College, composed of a few chief nobles, — 
viz. the three Archbishops of Mentz, Treves, and Co- 
logne, the Rhenish Palatine, the Duke of Saxon-Witten- 
bel'g, the Margrave of Brandenburg, and the King of 
Bohemia. This college possessed vast influence, and 
much lessened the miportance of the Imperial dignity, 
aa did also the mcreased strength of the inferior nobles, 
who, on the dismemberment of some of the great German 
duchies, made themselves nearly independent, and formed 
a second Electoral College of the Prmces of the Empire. 
The growth of the commercial cities in Northern Ger- 
many, which were leagued mto a Hanse (or association), 
contributed to the same result. 

The Diet of election was held m 1273, at Frankfort, — 
the pi-incipal candidates being Ottocar, King of Bohemia, 
and Alfonso X., King of Castile, both men of rank and 
wealth. The choice of the Electors, nevertheless, fell 
upon a comparatively unknown nobleman, — Rudolph, 
Count of Hapsburg. The reasons for the selection must 
be found in a sketch of his antecedent history. 

He was born in 1218, the descendant of an ancient 
and illustrious fomily, whose territories were situate in 
the district of Aargau, Switzeriand. His youth was un- 
settled, — occupied in warfare, more or less justiflable, 
with his neighboring fellow-lords. His name was more 



144 RUDOLPH OF HAPSBURG. 

honorably known as a terror to the banditti, who infested 
the country round his castle. He fought also in Italy 
under the Guelphic banner. In 1264 he inherited the 
estates of his uncle, the Count of Kyburg, which were 
of considerable extent and value, including much of what 
are now the Cantons of Berne, Lucerne, Zurich, Uri, 
Schwyz, and Unterwalden. Rudolph's laudable repres- 
sion of robbery in these and other of his territories, was 
fitly rewarded by the gratitude of Werner, Archbishop 
of Mentz. This prelate, in travelling from Strasburg to 
Rome, applied to Rudolph for the protection of a band 
of horse as far as the frontiers of Italy. The request 
was abundantly fulfilled. Rudolph's cavaliers accom- 
panied the Archbishop as far as to Rome itself, and then 
returned to Strasburg. Werner felt so indebted for this 
courtesy, that when the election of an emperor was 
mooted, he determined to repay Rudolph with a costly 
recompense. The powerful Burgrave of Nuremburg 
was interested in his behalf, but the Electors of the two 
colleges were not won over without difficulty ; and the 
Count's three daughters, who were marriageable, were 
offered as bribes to three of the Princes of the Empire, 
who were bachelors. He himself promised to support 
the Guelph cause in both Germany and Italy, and to 
consult the colleges in all questions of state policy. The 
only remonstrant was Ottocar, Kuig of Bohemia, who 
was a candidate as well as an elector. His ambas- 
sadors were unavaihng in their arguments, and Rudolph 
was duly elected. 

When the news reached the Count, he was attacking 
the city of Basle, against whose bishop he had grounds 



RUDOLPH OF HAPSBTJEG. 145 

of complaint for the murder of some relatives. The cit- 
izens, either weary of the siege, or anxious to win appro- 
bation from their new sovereign, relinquished the defence 
at once ; and admitting him into the city, hailed his elec- 
tion with joy. He then proceeded to Aix-la-Chapelle, 
and was there crowned King of the Romans. Gregory 
X., then Pope, was of a temperate and conciliating tem- 
per, and no difficulty was experienced in procuring his 
ratification of the appointment. Rudolph, indeed, was 
ready to concede to the Church almost all the questions 
which had been so bitterly and bloodily contested be- 
tween it and the Empire for so many centuries. He 
renounced any assumption of authority over Rome, the 
March of Ancona, and Duchy of Spoleto, and all inter- 
ference in ecclesiastical elections, save only the presence 
of his officers at the investiture of bishops. These con- 
cessions, which were the result of prudence, rather tha:i 
fear, healed the long-standing feud between the two great- 
est powers of Central Europe. 

Rudolph's election to the Empire was, of course, dis- 
puted by the indignant King of Bohemia. His vast 
possessions comprised nearly all the present Empire of 
Austria. Certain acts of cruelty towards his Styrian 
subjects, committed by this monarch, and complained of 
at the Diet, in 1275, gave the Emperor an opportunity 
of punishing his rebellious vassal. He raised an amiy, 
with wliich he invaded and subdued Austria ; while his 
relative, Meinhard, Count of the Tyi'ol, attacked Carin- 
thia and other provinces. Ottocar's aniiy was finally 
opposed to Rudolph's on the banks of the Danube, which 
the former relied on as a barrier. But the Emperor or- 
7 J 



146 KUDOLPH OF HAPSBURG. 

dered a bridge of boats to be made, crossed the river, and 
forced Ottocar to yield. Austria, Styria, Cariiiola, and 
Carinthia were suiTcndered to the Empire; and only 
Bohemia and Moravia retained. For these the King 
was obliged to do homage, and accordingly, in 1276, he 
came dressed in his regal robes to the tent of Rudolph, 
which was fixed on an island in the Danube. The Em- 
peror was dressed in a common military dress, adopted, 
doubtless, to render Ottocar's submission the more com- 
plete. This was the motive also for a rather unusual 
proceeding at this interview. As the King knelt before 
the Emperor in the tent which screened them from the 
gaze of the spectators, it was suddenly lifted, and the act 
of homage rendered conspicuous to all. Rudolph's con- 
duct seems, at first sight, an ungenerous trampling on a 
fallen foe, but is so exceptional in this respect from all 
else recorded of him, that we may reasonably believe it 
justified by the occasion. Ottocai' was a proud man, and 
naturally wounded at this insult. He was not appeased 
by the amends which Rudolph made by intermarrying 
their families. Stimulated to revenge by his wife, the 
King once more revolted. The attempt was not success- 
ful, and he was slain in a battle which took place near 
Vienna in 1278. His son, Wenceslaus, then did homage 
to the Emperor, whose son-in-law he afterwards became. 
Rudolph now strengthened his authority by dividing 
the government of the newly conquered provinces among 
his family. He further endeavored to restore peace and 
order throughout Austria and other parts of his domin- 
ions, by traveUing through them in person. Sanguinary 
feuds between spiritual and lay nobles, and commercial 



KUDOLPH OF HAPSBUEG. 147 

cities, then disgraced Germany. Many of the less potent 
barons were mere titled robbers, whose fortresses were 
dens of plunder. Though unable to put an end to all 
these abuses, he exerted himself successfully in numerous 
instances. He persuaded, or commanded, several nobles' 
engaged in feuds to submit their quarrels to arbitration, 
and repeatedly punished with the severest penalties acts 
of fraud and injustice committed by other lords.. In Thu- 
rmgia he destroyed more than sixty castles of robber- 
barons, and hanged about thirty of the owners. He fa- 
vored the growth of free cities, to which he gave chai'ters ; 
and m all parts of the empire he enforced the just execu- 
tion of the law. The people much loved him, for he was 
always accessible to the meanest of his subjects. On one 
occasion his guard refused admittance to some poor per- 
sons who asked for the Emperor. Rudolph, who beheld 
the scene, ordered that they should be admitted. " I was 
not made Emperor," said he, " to be excluded from my 
fellow-men." From his personal attendance in so many 
places, and constant enforcement of justice, he was called 
" the Living Law," and his subjects delighted to repeat 
anecdotes of his gratitude, generosity, and piety. A spe- 
cimen of each may be given. 

When seated one day in the great Court of Mentz, he 
noticed among the crowd a citizen of Zurich, who had 
once, long before his election, saved his life. The man 
was in humble circumstances, but the Emperor treated 
him hke an equal, — rising from the throne, accosting his 
old friend in cordial terms, and finally bestowing on him 
the then valuable dignity of knighthood. 

The generosity of Rudolph was signally displayed dur- 



148 RUDOLPH OF HAPSBURG. 

ing the Bohemian campaign. All the army — himself 
included — suffered severely from a scarcity of water. A 
pitcher full was at last procured, and brought to Rudolph, 
but he refused it. He would share the troubles of his 
" troops, he said, and not touch anything of which they 
were as much in want as himself. 

His piety was exhibited on an occasion when it is 
hardly possible that unworthy motives could have actu- 
ated its display. He was hunting in a mountainous dis- 
trict alone, when he met a priest toiling along a steep and 
miry footpath, to carry the consecrated wafer to a sick 
person. Rudolph immediately dismounted, and requested 
the priest to ride. " For you," said he, " to walk with 
the body of Christ in your hand, while I ride, were truly 
an unbecoming sight ! " Many such acts, bearing witness 
to a real nobleness of heart, are still affectionately re- 
corded in the popular traditions of Germany respecting 
Rudolph of Hapsburg. 

He was tainted with the weakness of over-ambition in 
spite of his high qualities, and desired to render the em- 
pire hereditary, instead of elective. With this view he 
made appHcation to the electing princes for the corona- 
tion of his son Albert as King of the Romans. The re- 
quest was refused, and it is said that the old man died of 
chagrin. This event occurred in 1291. 

Rudolph of Hapsburg has been called "the Second 
Restorer of the German Empire." He has had some 
severe censurers of his policy with respect to the Papacy, 
as being weak and mean; but most historians unite in 
awarding him high praise for wisdom, justice, and good- 
faith. He at least succeeded in his main objects of calm- 



RUDOLPH OF HAPSBURG. 149 

ing and regulating the empire at a time when the Impe- 
rial dignity was weakest. Success, indeed, is not invari- 
ably the measure of right, but -it is usually the measure 
of sound judgment; and for the possession of a large 
share of this all-important qualification, under difficult 
circumstances, we think Hudolph of Hapsburg well enti- 
tled to rank among the heroes of Europe. 



mmmx Mi 



THE LIBERATION OF SWITZERLAND. 

The refusal of the Electors of Germany to secure the 
throne to Albert, son of Rudolph the First, was perhaps 
dictated as much by personal as public feeling, — by dis- 
like to the individual as to hereditary monarchy. Albert 
certainly merited hatred as a cruel and perfidious tyrant. 
As Duke of Austria, in his father's lifetime, his conduct 
had been such as to excite his Viennese subjects to revolt, 
— an offence which he punished by the most barbarous 
mutilations, as well as civil penalties. On the death of 
Rudolph, the Archbishop of Mentz — a man of strong 
will and great influence — won over his fellow-Electors, 
to place on the throne his cousin Adolph, Count of Nas- 
sau, who was a weak tool in his hands. Albert was con- 
strained to give way, and even acquiesced in the appoint- 
ment by taking an oath of fealty to the new Emperor. 
Adolph soon excited contempt by his mean and paltry pol- 
icy, and having quarrelled with the Archbishop, was de- 
serted by him in favor of Albert. The armies of the rivals 
met near Worms in 1298, and Adolph was slain. The 
Electors had previously been induced to give their votes 
for Albert, who thereupon took the title of Albert the 
First. An indifferently worthy successor of his father in 



WILLIAM TELL. 151 

intellect, lie inlierited none of his probity, being, on the 
contrary, insincere, ungenerous, and covetous. He, nev- 
ertheless, was for some time successful in subduing the 
independent spirit of the King of Bohemia, and resisting 
the pretensions of Pope Boniface VIII., who carried the 
arrogance of the Roman See to a higher pitch than any 
of his predecessors. Albert won the bitter hatred of his 
subjects by his tyrannical conduct, and more especially 
of the Swiss, who were his patrimonial retainers, or serfs. 
The power of the Counts of Hapsburg m Switzerland 
was orighially only that of a feudal lord over the tenants 
of his own domain. Switzerland, as a whole, was nomi- 
nally included in the kingdom of Burgundy, and acknowl- 
edged the supremacy of the German Empire. Gradually, 
however, various nobles, both among the clergy and 
laity, had acquired strength and influence over large 
districts. Berne, Basle, Zurich, and other commercial 
cities, had also risen into importance. A spirit of inde- 
pendence, natural and almost universal among mountain- 
eers, animated the Swiss middle class and peasantry, and 
it only required the provocation of tyranny to excite this 
spirit into open revolt. The Counts of Hapsburg claimed 
feudal rights in Lucerne, Schwyz, and Unterwalden 
especially; and both as Imperial judges and "advo- 
cates," or lay guardians of certain convents in those Can- 
tons, ventured to exercise authority over Uri also, — a 
district inhabited by a free community of shepherds, sin- 
gularly tenacious of their liberties. Rudolph had used 
his power temperately ; but Albert took advantage of his 
accession to abuse his authority, by placing deputy-gov- 
ernors in these Cantons, — officers whose duties were 



152 WILLUM TELL. 

twofold, — those, namely, of Imperial viceroys and man- 
agers of the Hapsburgian possessions. He evidently in- 
tended to reduce the Swiss into slavery, by abolishing all 
their ancient customs and privileges. The opposition he 
met with in this scheme forms the subject of the present 
brief sketch. 

Nothing is known of the early life of Wilham Tell, 
and his very existence is disputed by some writers. As 
his name signifies a Simpleton, it has been conjectured 
that he is a legendary character, created by popular 
imagination to convey an idea of the humble and ignoble 
instruments by which the work of freedom was accom- 
plished. But this description of poetry is so unlike what 
we usually find in similar cases, — a popular hero being 
always extravagantly grand and imposing ; and the nar- 
ratives of Tell, on the other hand, are so straightforward 
and natural that, although we cannot receive them as 
strictly accurate without further evidence, there is, we 
think, no ground for rejecting them altogether. William 
Tell, therefore, in our judgment, is, upon the whole, a 
real personage, and to be believed in accordingly. 

He was not the prime mover in the revolt whose suc- 
cessful issue has been always associated with his name. 
In 1307, the cruelty of Von Landenburg, the Emperor's 
governor of Unterwalden, in putting out the eyes of an 
old yeoman named Melchthal, for an offence committed 
by his son Arnold, so exasperated that young man that he 
excited the peasantry of both Unterwalden and Uri (where 
he had fled) to share his feelings and promise aid in his 
plans. At the same time Gessler, the Imperial governor 
over Uri and Schwyz, was equally hated for his tyran- 



WILLIAM TELL. 153 

nical conduct. A fortress-prison, which he built in Uri, 
especially aroused the wrath of the peasantry, which was 
further stimulated by his insulting order that all persons 
who passed through the town of Altorf should do homage 
by kneeling to the Ducal hat of Austria (or according to 
some writers, his own), which he fixed on the top of a 
pole in the market-place. Disobedience to this order 
was punishable with corporal pains and confiscation of 
property. This, and other acts of injustice, at last so 
provoked a wealthy and esteemed land-owner of Schwyz, 
named Werner Staffacher, that, in concert with Arnold 
Melchthal, and an honorable yeoman of the Canton of 
Uri, named Walter Furst, he formed a committee of thir- 
ty-three tried men, who met by night in a secret haunt, 
and there planned measures for the enfranchisement of 
Switzerland from the tyrannous yoke of the Empire. 

Tell, though not the prime mover, was the immediate 
agent of the scheme. His wife was the daughter of 
Furst ; and it was probably by the influence of the lat- 
ter that our hero, who seems to have been a peasant of 
ordinary standing in the Canton of Uri, joined in the 
league, though without taking a prominent part in it. 
The only noticeable feature concei'jiing him was his repu- 
tation for skill as an archer. His avocations often took 
him to Altorf, where the Ducal hat was conspicuously 
fixed in the central market-place ; but he would not dis- 
semble his independent spirit, and continually passed the 
badge of slavery without sharing in the homage paid to 
it by the trembling townsmen. This boldness was at 
last reported to Gessler, ever on the watch to punish dis- 
obedience; and one day, in the winter of 1307, Tell re- 
7* 



154 WILLIAM TELL. 

ceived a summons to attend the Governor. On present- 
ing himself, he was sternly asked by Gesslor what were 
the reasons of his refusal to do homage to the hat. Tell 
was not as yet disposed to be a martyr, and with a some- 
what undignified show of cowardice excused his neglect 
on the plea of ignorance, and promised compliance. 
Gessler probably suspected the man's real character, and 
would not discharge him without punishment. We give 
the memorable story which follows, as the old chroniclers 
relate it, and without vouching for its truth. 

Ordering Tell's children to be sent for, the Governor 
asked which of them was most dear to the father. Tell 
replied that they were alike dear to him ; upon which 
Gessler selected a boy of six years old, placed him at 
several paces distant from the group in an open space of 
ground, set an apple on his head, and thus accosted the 
astonished father ; — 

" Tell, I hear that you are a marksman good and true. 
You shall prove it before me, by shooting that apple off 
the head of your child ! Be careful to strike the apple ; 
for should your first shot miss it shall cost you your life ! " 

" For the sake of God, sir, I entreat you to spare me 
this trial ! " cried the horror-struck Tell. " Consider how 
unnatural it were to shoot at my own dear son ! " 

The reply of the Governor was brief and stern : — 

" Unless you shoot the apple, you or your child shall 
die ! " 

Tell turned from the cold eyes and hard lips of the 
merciless man to the unseen presence of a merciful God, 
whom he implored to give his hand firmness in this 
dreadful moment. Taking up his crossbow, and fixing 



WILLLA3I TELL. 155 

one arrow in it, he placed another behind in his collar ; 
and then drawing a long breath, took his aim and shot. 
The arrow cleft the apple through the core, and the 
child's head was untouched. Gessler was amazed at this 
feat of skill, on which he had not reckoned, and did not 
withhold his applause, but suddenly turned to Tell with 
the question : — 

« Why did you place that other arrow in your collar?" 
Tell evaded the question at first, but on receiving a 
promise that his hfe should be spared, answered : — 

« My lord, I wiU tell you the truth. Had I struck my 
child Vith one arrow, I would not have missed you with 

the other." 

Enraged at this daring speech, Gessler ordered his 
servants°to seize and bmd so dangerous a rebel; whom, 
though pledged to save ahve, he vowed to punish with 
perpetual imprisonment. Tell was accordingly hand- 
cuffed, and led to Fluellen, a viUage still standing at the 
head of the beautiful Waldstadten, or Lake of Lucerne. 
Here a boat awaited him, and the Governor entered, ac- 
companied by a smaU party of servants. Some of them 
guarded the prisoner, while the others managed the ves- 
sel; which was steered for Brunnen, on the Schwyz coast 
of the lake. From thence the Governor proposed taking 
Tell to the Castle of Kussnacht, where a dungeon was to 
be his doom for life. 

It was a stormy winter's day, and the clouds hung 
heavily over the steep brow of the Righi, and the jagged 
peaks of that wild range of mountains which the Swiss 
have named Mount Pilate, from a legend that, in one of 
its desolate tarns, the deposed procurator of Judaea, and 



156 WILLIAM TELL. 

remorseful judge of the Saviour, perished by self-murder. 
The blue waters of the lake were now darkened, and 
heaving with the violence of the wind ; and when the 
boat reached Achsen, where the coast-Hne curves, the 
storm was at such a height that the crew became terrified. 
Tell all this time — a strong and good steersman — was 
lying useless, with his hands bound. One of Gessler's 
servants at last ventured to ask the Governor's permission 
to make use of Tell's assistance, considering the peril in 
which all were placed. Gessler, who was in great terror 
of drowning, readily consented ; promising Tell his re- 
lease if he succeeded in savmg him. The fetters teing 
removed. Tell hasted to the helm, keeping an eye on 
his crossbow, which was lying near, while he skilfully 
steered the vessel round the corner of Achsen. He soon 
reached a spot where a ledge of rock projected into the 
lake, affording a good landing-place. Calling to the crew 
to be careful of the vessel in this dangerous locality, he 
steered straight for the rock, drove the vessel against it, 
seized his crossbow, and leaped ashore. Then with a 
vigorous exertion of his sturdy arm, he pushed off the 
vessel into the lake, and left it tossing in the waves, 
while he swiftly ran across the Canton to a steep bank 
overhanging the road from Brunnen to Kiissnacht, along 
which he knew that the Governor must pass. Meantime, 
after a perilous buffet with the storm, Gessler and his 
servants, full of wrath against Tell, reached Brunnen, 
and took horses for the castle. The cavalcade passed 
the spot of Tell's concealment, as he expected, who, 
watching his opportunity, while Gessler was in the act 
of devising schemes for the capture of the fugitive, once 



WILLIAM TELL. 157 

more drew the crossbow, and an avenging an-ow pierced 
the Governor's heart. Tell made good his escape forth- 
with. 

This act of violence, which, as revengeful and insidious, 
cannot be defended, was displeasing to the Swiss patriots 
generally, who desired, if possible, to avoid bloodshed. 
This, however, was not possible. After capturing the 
chief fortresses of Unterwalden, Uri, and Sehwyz, the 
peasantry, in 1308, formed at Brunnen an extensive con- 
federation, which was to last for ten years, whereby they 
swore to defend their privileges, although acknowledging 
the Imperial supremacy. 

The assassination of Albert I. by his nephew, about the 
same time, removed a tyrant ; and the election of Henry, 
Count of Luxembourg, to the vacant throne, as Henry 
Vn., — a wise, brave, and just prince, — procured for 
Switzerland a temporary exemption from the revenge of 
Austria. He, however, was also assassinated in 1313, 
and a struggle ensued for the throne between the parti- 
sans of Albert's son, Frederick, and Louis, Duke of Ba- 
varia. Leopold, Duke of Austria, Frederick's brother, 
was his chief ally. Exasperated, as a member of the 
house of Hapsburg, at the revolt of his Swiss tenants, 
and as Frederick's general at the support which they 
naturally gave to the cause of the Duke of Bavaria, Leo- 
pold eagerly seized an opportunity of invading the free 
Cantons. 

The Swiss, though undiscipHned and scantily armed, 
made up for the deficiency by steady courage and unfail- 
ing ardor, and at the battle of Morgarten, in 1315, utterly 
routed the Austrians. Tell, who had returned to his for- 



158 WILLIAM TELL. 

mer humble position since his exploits, took part in this 
battle. 

The independence of the three great Cantons was fully 
confirmed by this victory. A perpetual league was 
formed, which some years later was strengthened by the 
adhesion of Lucerne, and subsequently of other Cantons. 
The Austrians frequently attempted to recover their lost 
territories, but in vain. At the battle of Sempach, in 
1385, occurred the famous act of Winkelried, a gentle- 
man of Unterwalden, who, when the Swiss were unable 
to pass a barrier of spear-heads which the Austrian 
knights presented, grasped in his arms, as many spears 
as he could hold, buried their points in his breast, and 
thus gave his countrymen a passage. This defeat put an 
end to the attempts of Austria for many years ; and Swit- 
zerland continued nominally tributary to the Empu^e, but 
virtually free, till the beginning of the sixteenth century, 
when a last attack was made upon her independence by 
the Emperor Maximilian. It failed ; and eventually, by 
a solemn treaty of peace, the Cantons of Switzerland 
were declared free. 

Tell, so far as records inform us, took no further part 
in the politics of his country after the battle of Morgar- 
ten. He had achieved his work boldly and skilfully, if 
not very nobly. He merely stands in history as the rep- 
resentative of a free mountain peasantry, and illustrates 
the homely and sturdy character of his class and age. 
One act of private heroism is recorded of him, and wor- 
thily terminates his career. In 1354 the river Schachen 
overflowed its banks, and, while attempting to rescue 
some neighbors, he was carried away by the flood, and 



WILLIAM TELL. 150 

drowned. His name lias not been forgotten by his coun- 
trymen. In the quaint market-place of Altorf, the Ducal 
hat of Austria has given place to the statue of the free- 
man who refused to bend before it. In 1388 the Canton 
of Uri erected a chapel on the spot where Tell landed 
and escaped from Gessler. Protected by overhanging 
rocks, and shaded by trees, " Tell's Chapel " still greets 
the eye of the voyager on the Lake of Lucerne. 



«i 



[antes m)5 f |}% tan ^rftbelk. 



THE FLEMISH GUILDS. 

The northwestern corner of the great European Con- 
tinent — now divided into the kingdoms of Holland and 
Belgium — is commonly known in history as the Low 
Countries, or Netherlands, — a name strictly apphcable 
to the flat and " spongy " soil of the district, which is, in 
fact, a lagune, or deposit of mud, washed down by the 
rivers Rhuie, Meuse, and Scheldt. The hardy tribes of 
Batavi, Belgae, and Frisii, which dwelt there, were con- 
quered by the Romans, and subsequently by Charle- 
magne. On the partition of his empire, the Northern 
Netherlands fell chiefly to the share of Germany, and 
most of the Southern to France. The latter were gener- 
ally comprised in the county of Flanders, governed by a 
nobleman who acknowledged the King of France as his 
suzerain. The Flemings, — as the people were called, 
— an industrious race, occupied in their woollen trade, 
mixed but little in European politics until the fourteenth 
century. The feudal system was here, as elsewhere, 
abused by the undue power of the nobles, to the injury 
of the middle classes, which had gradually acquired much 
wealth, and many hberties. The cities of Ghent, Bruges, 
Ypres, &c., Hke those of France and Germany, formed 



JAMES AND PHILIP VAN AKTEVELDE. 161 

communes for their mutual protection, and at various 
times obtained charters from the Counts of Flanders. 
Rivalries between certain cities and trade-societies, or, as 
they were styled, " guilds," often proved occasions of war 
and serious hindrances to the common cause of hberty, 
and afforded frequent opportunities to the readily aggres- 
sive spirit of the feudal aristocracy. As a rule, however, 
the balance of power in Flanders, during the fourteenth 
centiu-y, vibrated between the burghers of the communal 
cities on the one side, and the Counts of Flanders, with 
their inferior lords, supported by the Kings of France, on 
the other. 

Louis de Nevers, Count of Flanders, who was allied, 
both by marriage and interest, to the reigning family of 
France, was justly hated by liis subjects for his harsh and 
illegal violation of the charters given to the communes, 
exempting them from arbitrary taxation. In a contest 
with the city of Bruges he was taken prisoner ; but the 
jealousy of the Ghentese prevailed over their patriotism, 
and they forced Bruges to set Louis free. In 1329, 
Phihp VI. of France, being summoned by the Count to 
his aid, defeated the Flemings at Cassel. Thirteen thou- 
sand of them are said to have fallen in the field. The 
inhabitants of Cassel were tortured and put to death by 
thousands, other cities were heavily taxed, and Louis 
was restored to his feudal sway. He had no firmer hold, 
however, on the allegiance of his subjects than military 
force could sustain ; and this once removed, the spirit of 
mutiny again showed itself. War breaking out between 
England and France, the power of the latter became no 
longer formidable ; and this time it was Ghent that headed 

K 



162 JAMES AND PHILIP VAN AETEVELDE. 

the rebellion. The leader in that city was a man of noble 
descent, but by occupation a brewer, named James Arte- 
velde. He was one of the true demagogue stamp, en- 
dowed with much strength of will, activity, and readiness 
of speech, but ambitious and plausible. He acquired 
considerable influence over the people by assiduously flat- 
tering them and disparaging the nobles. He saw the 
advantage of obtaining the assistance of England in the 
struggle, and therefore urged the burghers of Ghent and 
other Flemish cities to conclude a treaty with Edward 
III., to which that monarch was nothing loath to assent. 
Louis, who was then at Bruges, was greatly enraged at 
this bold and prudent act of policy, and seizing Siger Von 
Kostryk, one of the agents most diligent in promoting the 
alliance, ordered his execution. Ghent immediately rose 
in arms. The burghers marched to Bruges, where the 
Count's party was most numerous, and forced the citizens 
to join the rebellion. Aided by an English army, the 
insurgents gave battle to Louis, who had summoned the 
nobles to his banner, defeated, and put him to flight. 
He sought refuge in France for some years, during which 
time Artevelde governed Flanders with a wisdom which 
commanded the respect of his political oj^ponents. The 
trade of the country was increased, and the citizens lived 
peacefully and contentedly. Philip VI. was naturally 
inflamed with anger against the Flemings for their sedi- 
tious support of Edward the Third's pretence to the 
crown of France, and prevailed on the then Pope, Bene- 
dict XIL, to issue a decree of excommunication against 
them. This produced little or no effect, for Edward, who 
at once assumed the title of King of France, entered 



JAMES x\ND PHILIP VAN ARTEVELDE. 1G3 

Flanders with his army in 1338, and formally confirmed 
to the people their cherished privileges. In the same 
year Count Louis, making a bold step to recover his pos- 
sessions, returned to try the effects of conciliation with 
his revolted subjects. He entered Ghent without oppo- 
sition, but when once within the gates the burghers shut 
them, and took him prisoner. Artevelde even constrained 
him to forfeit his claim to the help of France, by signing 
a treaty with Edward III. in the followmg year. Louis, 
however, escaped to Paris, where he made liis peace with 
Philip, with whom he now joined in the war against Eng- 
land and her Flemish allies. Two or three battles were 
lost and won on both sides, when Louis again attempted 
a peaceful compromise of the quarrel. Either from inti- 
mate knowledge of the Count's character, or for his own 
personal ends, Artevelde persuaded the Flemmgs to re- 
fuse the proposition, and Louis remained in France. 

The rebellion of the Flemings was not of a republican 
or revolutionary character. They were not animated by 
any hatred to the existing form of government, or to the 
reigning family, but only desired to preserve their char- 
tered rights, and be secure against the tyranny of a ruler 
like Count Louis. Artevelde seems to have misjudged 
the feelmg of his countrymen, or to have over-estimated 
the extent of his influence over them. He made a prop- 
osition to the league of cities in 1344, that the eldest son 
of our Edward III. — so well known as the Black Prince 

should be invited to take the office of Governor of 

Flanders, on condition of his making it a sovereign 
duchy. This scheme was very distasteful to the Flem- 
ings, and they not only rejected it, but viewed with great 



164 JA^IES AND PHILIP VAN AETEVELDE. 

suspicion all the subsequent acts of their leader. The 
immediate occasion of his fall arose out of a fierce dispute 
between the Fullers' Guild and Weavers' Guild of Ghent, 
in 1344. It lasted during a whole day, and terminated 
in the slaughter of 1500 fullers and the victory of the 
weavers. Artevelde took no part on either side ; but the 
success of the weavers procured for Denys, their dean, or 
master, such influence that he became a dangerous rival. 
Artevelde, fearing probably a personal attack, introduced 
into the city a band of some 500 EngHsh soldiers for his 
own protection. This suspicious action was soon noised 
abroad, and Denys seized the opportunity to get rid of a 
troublesome antagonist. He raised the cry of "Trea- 
son I " and it was echoed on all sides by the fickle popu- 
lace of Ghent. Other charges were brought against Ar- 
tevelde, into the truth or falsehood of which it is difficult 
and immaterial to inquire here. One of the most serious 
was, that he had appropriated, without accounting for, the 
government finances, and sent large sums to England. 
One morning, in July 1344, he perceived from the mur- 
murs and insults of the people that the general feeling 
was strongly against him. He hastened to his house, 
and barred gates, doors, and windows ; but this defence 
was scarcely completed, when the dwelling was assailed 
on all sides by the enraged populace. He and his men 
fought bravely; and during a lull in the storm he at- 
tempted to argue in his own behalf, denying the charges 
brought against him, and appealing to his services and 
the prosperity of the country under his rule. All was in 
vain ; and in the words of old Froissart, " when James 
saw that he could not appease them (the Ghentese), he 



JAaiES AND PHILIP VAN AETEVELDE. 165 

drew in his head and closed his window, and so thought 
to steal out by the back-door into a church that adjoined 
his house ; but 400 persons had entered into his house, 
and finally he was there taken and slam." The fate of 
this able, though probably designing man, is among the 
most striking illustrations of the uncertainty of popular 
impulses, and the precarious tenure of a demagogue's in- 
fluence. 

The fall of their insurgent leader did not affect the 
position of the Flemings with respect to their exiled lord. 
Louis was slain fighting on the French side at the great 
battle of Cressy, in 1340. In the next year, however, 
peace was made between England and France ; and the 
Flemish alliance was no longer of importance to the 
former power. The son of the deceased Count Louis, 
surnamed Male, was accordingly restored to his father's 
dominions, on condition of his insuring to the Flemings 
those privileges for which they had so valiantly fought. 
He had not the good sense, or good fortune, nevertheless, 
to remain long in the possession of the respect or alle- 
giance of his subjects. Liternal rivalries still disturbed 
the country, and his imprudent connection with one of 
the contending factions led to his ignominious expulsion. 
Li 1381 the burghers of Bruges, licensed by his author- 
ity, commenced making a channel to bring their city into 
closer communication with the river Lys. This scheme 
was injurious to the city of Ghent, which formerly had a 
monopoly of the river traffic, and her jealousy was at 
once excited. Some of the disaffected Ghentese there- 
upon revived a body which had fallen into disuse, — 
known as the Whitehoods, from the dress of the mem- 



166 JAMES AND PHILIP VAN AETEVELDE. 

bers, — with tlie view of resenting by force the wrongs 
of the city. The Whitehoods stopped by threats the 
progress of the channel works, but did not disband when 
this end was accomphshed. An arbitrary act committed 
by the baihflf of the Count, in confining a burgess of 
Ghent in the county prison (contrary to the city charter), 
led to a remonstrance from the Whitehoods. The Count 
promised to redress the injustice if this body were dis- 
banded ; but the Ghentese refused to comply, and on the 
Count's attempting force, they slew his bailiff and tore 
his banner in pieces. This was the signal for war. Sup- 
ported by Bruges, Lisle, and other cities, Count Louis IL 
was for some time successful against Ghent, with which 
sided Ypres, Courtray, and a few less important places. 
The character of the struggle was nearly identical with 
that of the late war, — the nobles, as before, ranging 
themselves on the side of their feudal suzerain, and the 
burghers and lower classes unitmor in defence of their 



rights. 

Count Louis was, as we have said, for some time suc- 
cessful against Ghent, more especially in intercepting 
the supplies of provisions which the citizens required ; 
hoping by thus reducing them to w^ant to shorten the 
campaign. The result of this plan at first seemed to 
answer his expectations. The Ghentese grew dissatis- 
fied, and the Whitehood leaders, who had no chance of 
obtaining the mercy of Louis in case of a surrender, were 
in much perplexity how to act. It occurred to one of 
them, named Van den Bosch, that it would create a favor- 
able feeling in the popular mind if the influence of their 
former leader could be revived. It was by a sudden 



JAMES AND PHILIP VAN AKTEVELDE. 167 

diange of sentiment, and not a deeply-rooted outbreak, 
that James Artevelde had fallen ; and now that he was 
dead, the fickle mob remembered his valuable services, 
and forgot his ambitious schemes. He had left one son, 
named Philip, after his godmother Phihppa, Edward the 
Third's queen, who in the days of the English aUiance 
had honored the Flemish leader by holding his son at the 
font. Philip was now in the prime of manhood, a calm 
and thoughtful student, mentally accomphshed, and of 
high moral reputation. He had not mixed in politics, 
but hved quietly at Ghent, in the enjoyment of domestic 
happiness and large wealth. The Whitehood leaders, 
thinking liim a recluse, and not penetratmg into the lurk- 
ing ambition of his character, considered he would be an 
useful tool, and accordingly apphed to him. Conscious 
of power, really patriotic as it would seem, and at the 
same time not indisposed to add the glory of authority to 
that of wealth, Philip Van Artevelde consented to become 
the leader of the Ghentese. He was proposed in a great 
pubhc assembly, and vociferously elected Captain of the 
City. 

The Whitehoods soon found themselves laid aside by 
theu' supposed tool. He commenced negotiations with 
the Count, but, confident of eventual success, Louis would 
hear of no terms. Artevelde showed great firmness in 
this emergency. Two leading citizens of Ghent, sus- 
pected of being in league with the enemy, endeavored 
to persuade then* fellow-citizens to surrender, but the 
Whitehoods put both to death ; and the eloquence of 
Artevelde prevailed over the urgent cravings of famine. 
Amid the cries of fainting women, and the ill-concealed 



168 JAMES AND PHILIP VAN AETEVELDE. 

fears of the men, he thus appealed to the people : " Choose 
one of these three plans ! Shut yourselves into the 
churches, commending jour souls to God, and die of 
hunger ; bind yourselves with chains, and yield to the 
cruel Count ; or seize your arms and drive back our foes ! 
"Which will you ? " The crowd seemed swayed by the 
will of the young Captain, and could not oppose it. " Do 
you choose for us ! " was the answer. " To arms, then ! " 
was his rejoinder. With a body of but 5,000 men he left 
Ghent on the 2d of May, 1382, and marched straight 
for Bruges, where the Count was stationed. The plan 
seemed insane, and was certainly desperate ; for the as- 
sailants were few in number, and weakened by famine, 
while Bruges was thronged with soldiers, and abounding 
in provisions of every kind. Within three miles of the 
city Artevelde halted. In the midst of their rejoicings 
during a festival, the Count and his partisans in Bruges 
were startled by the news that the famine-stricken Ghent- 
ese had ventured to sally forth and meet death by the 
sword. Vainly boastful of his position, Louis issued 
from the city with a chosen band of knights and a mot- 
ley company of Bruges citizens, all, in their own opinion, 
secure of victory. Artevelde had well planted his army, 
small as it was, by shielding it with a marsh in front, and 
guarding the flanks by a line of baggage-carts. He com- 
menced the engagement by a telling fire of artillery, and 
then manoeuvred so as to draw the Count's men into the 
marsh, while he charged the remaining body with such 
ardor that it was utterly discomfited, and the flight be- 
came general. The pursuers and pursued entered Bruges 
together. A panic seized the burghers, and at nightfall 



JMIES AND PHILIP VAN ARTEVELDE. 169 

the city was given up to plunder, in which the rabble of 
Bruges itself was but too ready to join. Louis fled in 
disguise, and concealed himself in the loft of a house be- 
longing to a poor woman who was in the habit of receiv- 
ing alms at the palace-gate. He subsequently escaped 
to Lisle. 

Artevelde stopped the plunder of Bruges in the morn- 
ing, but signalized his victory by an act, which, unless 
justified by circumstances not recorded, was tyrannical 
and inexpedient, — the execution of the chief magistrates. 
His success, indeed, was fatal to his moral rectitude. He 
forgot his domestic duties in unlawful pleasures, assumed 
the airs of a monarch, and levied heavy taxes upon all 
the partisans of the Count. Ghent, howev.er, benefited 
greatly by the alteration in the aspect of affairs ; and 
plenty and cheapness succeeded to the miseries of famine. 
Most of the Flemish cities joined the revolt, and a gen- 
eral rising of the middle and lower classes against the 
oppression of the nobles was prevalent in Flanders. 

The daughter of Louis had married the Duke of Bur- 
gundy, uncle of the young King of France, Charles VI. ; 
and fearful of losing his reversionary right to the County 
of Flanders, the Duke persuaded his nephew's counsel- 
lors to send an army to the relief of the exiled Count, be- 
fore the Flemings could, as it was probable they would, 
procure the support of England. Artevelde was besieg- 
ing Oudenarde, one of the few cities still faithful to Louis, 
but advanced to meet the French army. It was victo- 
rious in an engagement at Comines, and the city of Ypres 
deserted the Flemish league. Both armies then marched 
towards the river Lys, and encountered at Eosebecque, 
8 



170 JAMES AND PHILIP VAN AETEVELDE. 

between Courtray and Ghent. The night before the bat- 
tle, it was said, was portentous of evil omen, — war-cries 
and the din of arms having been heard in the air, as 
though, says Froissart, the fiends of hell were playing 
" for joy of the great prey they were hkely to have." 

Next morning the armies met on the field. The Flem- 
ings fought like men, but were unskilfully arranged, — 
their lines being so close as to prevent the soldier from 
using his weapon with effect. The French men-at-arms 
pressed on them so fiercely as to increase this difiiculty ; 
and 20,000 Flemings are said to have fallen. Pliihp, 
surrounded by his body-guard of Ghentese, was at last 
wounded, and beaten down, — he himself, as it is sup- 
posed, falling into a ditch, and being suffocated to death. 
His body was found and brought to the French camp, 
finally receiving honorable burial at Courtray. The war 
by no means ended with this battle, decisive as it seemed. 
The English aided the Ghentese, and carried on the 
campaign for some time. Louis, being assassinated in a 
private quarrel two years after, the crown of Flanders 
passed to the Duke of Burgundy, who concluded peace 
with the citizens in 1385, on condition of assuring their 
liberties. 

Both the Van Arteveldes had too short a duration of 
power to enable us to form a decided opinion of their 
characters. Able and prudent they certainly were, but 
tainted with the vice of ambition, and spoiled by success. 
They are chiefly prominent in history as the popular 
leaders in a contest which was in its time of great im- 
portance. Its issue, indeed, decided the line of conduct 
adopted by other communities similarly circumstanced. 



JAMES AND PHILIP VAN AETEVELDE. 171 

The French cities were on the point of rising against the 
nobles, but cautiously waited to see the end. The rebel- 
lion of Wat Tyler, in England, was a connected move- 
ment of a like description. The sanguinary check which 
the Flemings met at Rosebecque probably saved the 
effusion of much more blood elsewhere. It certainly 
proved the salvation of the nobles throughout Europe, 
and the burghers and peasantry learned to look to pa- 
tience and importunity as the surest and wisest methods 
of obtaining their rights secured. 



Cosiufl hi Mttki 



THE FLORENTINE REPUBLIC. 

Among the Italian republics, no city occupied a more 
distinguished position than Florence. Remarkable for 
tlie beauty of its situation, amid an amphitheatre of hills, 
on the banks of the Arno, and for the artistic glory of its 
architecture, poetry, sculpture, and painting, it was yet 
more conspicuous for the love of freedom, rectitude, dig- 
nity, and cultivation of its citizens. Honorable as its 
reputation is in these respects, its history is, notwith- 
standing, disfigured by the records of faction and crime, 
— only less common in this city than in any other dur- 
ing the same period. A sketch of the leading events in 
which Fkjrence was concerned, from the death of Fred- 
erick II. to the commencement of the fifteenth century, 
may thus be given. 

The Ghibelines of the city, as previously stated, united, 
in 1248, to expel all the Guelphs by force ; but their 
exile did not last beyond two years. Before the death 
of Frederick, the leading citizens revolted against the 
yoke which the Imperialists sought to impose on them. 
At a great assembly m the Square of Santa Croce, held 
on the 20th October, 1250, the constitution of the repub- 
lic was placed on a new footing. The Podesta (an officer 



COSMO DEI MEDICI. 173 

in imitation of tlie Imperial viceroys in Lombardj, insti- 
tuted by Frederick Barbarossa) was no longer retained 
as sole chief magistrate. With him was joined another, 
named Captain of the People, and both were to act as 
separate judges, without taking any active share in the 
administration of affairs, which was confided to a body 
of twelve, called the Signoria, elected by the people from 
the several districts of the city, and holding office for two 
months at a time. The first Signoria, under the new 
constitution, recalled the Guelph exiles, and supported 
that cause in Italy generally. Against Pisa, and other 
Ghibeline cities, Florence obtained numerous successes 
at this period ; and the year 1254 was known as that 
"of Victories." 

In 1258 the Ghibelines, displaying factious symptoms, 
were, in their turn, exiled. Fai'inata degli Uberti, their 
able and eloquent leader, was well received by the rival 
repubhc of Sienna ; and having allied himself with Man- 
fred, the King of Naples and Sicily (son of Frederick 
II.), obtained a considerable force with which to recover 
the defeat of his party. By intrigues and treachery in 
their camp, the Guelphs of Florence were drawn into a 
snare, and experienced a terrible blow at Arbia, in 1260, 
where the GhibeUnes attacked them by surprise, and 
utterly routed them. The chiefs of the defeated faction 
deserted Florence, which the Ghibelines entered, — abol- 
ishing the new government, and establishing an aristo- 
cratic magistracy, pledged to support Manfred. The 
republics of Pisa and Sienna, ever jealous of Florence, 
ventured to propose the destruction of the city, which 
they averred to be a hotbed of Guelph democracy. Fa- 



174 COSMO DEI MEDICI. 

rinata, however, was a patriot still, and, with an indig- 
nant burst of eloquence, he declared that, if so monstrous 
a wrong were attempted, he and his party would join the 
Guelphs, whom they had just exiled. His ai'guments 
prevailed, and Florence was saved. 

The Ghibeline rule was of short duration. In 1265, 
Charles of Anjou wa-s summoned by the Pope, as already 
narrated, to uphold the Guelph standard. The fall of 
Manfred and his house soon followed. Florence rose 
against its Imperialist garrison, consented to receive 
French troops in its place, acknowledged the nominal 
supremacy of Charles, as they had previously done that 
of the German emperors, and re-established their demo- 
cratic constitution. Pope Gregory X., one of the wisest 
and best Popes that ever reigned, used his influence to 
assuage the violence of faction in Italy. He endeavored 
to weaken the dominant authority of Charles, and balance 
the power of the rival parties as equally as possible. 
Florence, at his persuasion, restored the Ghibelines. 

The concessions of Rudolph of Hapsburg to the Papal 
See left scarcely any room for the contention of the two 
factions, which now indeed quarrelled more from heredi- 
tary hatred than political opposition. Pope Nicholas HE. 
was a Ghibeline by descent and inclination, and wholly 
averse to the schemes of Charles, who meditated Guelph 
domination in Italy. This indeed he nearly obtained, 
through the agency of the succeeding Pope, Martin IV., 
who was his creature ; but in 1282 the Sicilian Vespers, 
and the consequent separation of the kingdoms of Naples 
and Sicily, distracted the attention of Charles from other 
than domestic pohtics. For several years after these 



COSMO DEI MEDICI. • 175 

events the Italian Republics were free from foreign 
aggression of any kind, — the power of Naples being 
much reduced, and the condition of Germany being such 
as to forbid its Emperor from attempting any designs on 
Italy. During this interval Florence took the lead in a 
peaceful rivalry of arts and literature with her fellow- 
states. It was at this period that her best churches and 
palaces, solid, simple, and beautiful structures, were chief- 
ly buiit. Ciraabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian 
painting, and Dante, the king of Italian poets, distin- 
guished her by their residence. Commerce, agriculture, 
and the graces of social refinement, were diligently and 
successfully cultivated, and the reputation of Florence 
was European. A still more democratic change was 
made in her constitution towards the close of the thir- 
teenth century. The twelve magistrates who composed 
the Signoria were reduced to six, who were chosen out 
of the corporation of trades, and styled Priori delle Arti. 
The chief of this body was intrusted with the city stand- 
ard, or gonfalon, and hence named Gonfaloner. These 
peaceful pursuits and constitutional changes did not, un- 
fortunately, interfere with the progress of external or 
internal discords. The Guelph party maintained the 
upper hand, and were engaged for some years in a con- 
test with the Pisan Ghibelines. In Florence itself, the 
aggressions of the nobles in 1292 led to the passing of a 
severe edict, excluding all nobles from the Signoria, and 
placing power in the hands of the Gonfaloner to bring to 
justice those who violated the laws. The curious punish- 
ment of ennobling unruly families, to bring them within 
the reach of this decree, was also devised. The strength 



176 COSMO DEI MEDICI. 

of the aristocracy was, however, not to be easily re- 
strained, and Florence soon found herself mixed up with 
a deadly quarrel, which originated in the neighboring 
repubHc of Pistoia, between two branches of the Cancel- 
lieri family, known as the Biancki and Neri, that is, the 
Whites and the Blacks. The contest in Florence com- 
menced by a division in the Guelph party, -^ the Neri, 
who belonged to the ancient nobility, adhering to the 
traditional principles of the party ; while the Bianchi, 
who were chiefly nobles of recent extraction, disclaimed 
such illiberal ideas, and promoted a fusion of parties. 
The latter section, as may be supposed, subsequently 
sided with the Ghibelines, and the old form of dissension 
was revived. Pope Boniface VIII. gave his support to 
the Neri and Guelph cause. Inviting Charles, brother 
of Philip IV. of France, to wrest Sicily from the house 
of Aragon, he instructed him to pass through Florence. 
Charles announced himself as the champion of the 
Guelphs, and the Republic could not refuse him en- 
trance, though it hmited the extent of his power and 
the number of his attendants. He shamefully abused 
this permission by allymg himself with the Neri, and 
sanctioning their violent assertion of authority over their 
opponents. The Bianchi were plundered, ill-treated, and 
exiled, and Charles received a large share of the spoil. 
He quitted Florence in 1302, after a stay of some 
months. 

The accession of Pope Clement V., in 1305, who was 
a creature of the French King, and the consequent re- 
moval of the Papal residence to Avignon, diminished for 
about seventy years the mischievous interference of the 



COSMO DEI MEDICI. 177 

Church in the political affairs of Italy. But she was 
fated, almost at the same time, to enter into a struggle 
for freedom with her old antagonist, the German Em- 
peror. On the assassination of Albert L the crown was 
bestowed on the Count of Luxembourg, who ascended 
the throne as Henry VII. He has already been men- 
tioned as a just and able monarch, and his schemes in 
Italy were originally prompted by no unworthy motives. 
He saw that France had already succeeded in enslaving 
the Papacy, and seizing the crown of Naples, and he 
suspected her of designing to add to her power by further 
conquests. Faction, too, was rife throughout Italy, and 
a wise arbitration between the contending parties was 
greatly needed. He was invited by the Ghibelines, to- 
wards whom he naturally leaned ; but he at the same 
time announced himself as the restorer of order, and dis- 
claimed any political prejudices. Impartiality, however, 
was not possible in such a judge between such disputants. 
Entering Italy in 1310, he declared his intention of re- 
storing the exiles, both Guelph and Ghibeline, of every 
city. This was resisted in Milan, where the Guelphs 
were dominant. The Ghibelines returned and drove out 
their opponents, who stirred up the Guelphs of Lom- 
bardy against the Emperor. His demand of a tribute 
for the support of his army — a measure which, though 
perhaps legal, was certainly inexpedient — increased his 
unpopularity. He reduced Brescia by force, but failed 
in imposing his authority on Genoa, and his retirement 
to Pisa in 1312 resembled a flight. Florence now took 
part with the Guelphs, and aUied itself with Robert, the 
French King of Naples, to oppose Henry's claims. Un- 
8* L 



178 COSMO DEI MEDICI. 

willingly, but almost perforce, the Emperor resorted to 
tlie aid of Pisa, which was still devoted to the Ghib- 
eline cause, and the Bianchi of Tuscany. He was first 
crowned at Rome by the Pope's legate, and then set 
out for Florence with a large army. The Florentines 
prepared for war with cool determination, but bloodshed 
was happily spared by Henry's sudden death, in 1313. 

The Guelph and Ghibeline contest was not affected by 
this event. Pope John XXIL, elected in 1316, from 
his palace at Avignon, used his influence in support of 
the former party, of which Florence was the leading 
Italian representative. Pisa and Lucca, under an emi- 
nent noble named Castruccio Castracani, upheld the 
standard of the Empire, over which Louis, Duke of Ba- 
varia, was elected to reign in 1322. The Florentines 
suffered a severe defeat in 1325, at Alto Pascio, mainly 
through the treachery of their Spanish commander ; and 
hearing that Castruccio had summoned the new Emperor 
to his aid, they resolved to accept the protection of the 
King of Naples. Louis marched into Italy in 1327, but 
by his violent and grasping policy disgusted the Ghibe- 
lines, and increased the hatred of the Guelphs. He lav- 
ished favors on Castruccio, however, and was preparing 
to adopt the measures which he advised with respect to 
the subjugation of Florence, when the death of that skil- 
ful and ambitious general prevented the attempt. Louis 
returned to Germany in 1329, after a purposeless and 
disastrous visit. In the next year he sent John of Lux- 
embourg, King of Bohemia, as his vicegerent. This 
prince was the son of Henry VII., and inherited his 
father's high-minded and moderate disposition. He pur- 



COSMO DEI MEDICI. ^ 179 

sued the same impartial policy with more success, and, 
in Lombardy especially, restored order, and obtained 
oaths of obedience to the Empire. But Florence aspired 
to independence and self-government. Her citizens wise- 
ly resolved to lay aside faction for the sake of insuring 
liberty; and accordingly, in September, 1332, entered 
into a treaty with several of the Ghibeline cities which 
had already yielded to John, to reject his interference. 
By the terms of this agreement, no single state was to 
be allowed to monopolize power in Italy, and the cities 
which had intrusted their sovereignty to him were to be 
divided among the members of the League. Florence, 
it must be allowed, was not wholly free from sordid mo- 
tives in making this arrangement, as by it she acquired 
possession of Lucca. John, finding himself deserted by 
his new subjects, gave up any attempt to recover his 
influence, and departed from Italy in the next year.* 
The members of the League soon quarrelled. The 
powerful family of Delia Scala, which had made itself 
tyrant of the republic of Verona, after the death of Ecce- 
lino, was now headed by a noble named Mastino. He 
succeeded in dispossessing the Florentines of Lucca in 
1335, and, coveting larger possessions, formed a league 
with Pisa and other Ghibehne cities. The aristocratic 
republic of Venice at first united with Florence, but, 
after making good terms with Mastino, deserted her. 
Bologna, which had long upheld the Guelph cause, sur- 
rendered its sovereignty to the house of Pepoli in 1337, 
which joined the Ghibehnes. In 1341 Pisa was success- 

* English readers will remember the gallant death of this pi'ince, 
when aged and blind, at the battle of Cressy. 



180 ,. COSMO DEI MEDICI. 

ful in a conflict which Florence commenced to recover 
Lucca ; and, in short, the greatest repubhc of Tuscany 
seemed on the brink of ruin. In this emergency the 
citizens imprudently accused their magistrates of weak- 
ness, and attributed the misfortunes which befell the state 
to the want of a single leader. They fixed upon Walter 
de Brienne, a descendant of the French Crusaders who 
conquered the Eastern Empire in 1204. He still re- 
tained the title of Duke of Athens, then conferred on his 
ancestors, though, since the Greek reconquest of the Em- 
pire, he no longer possessed any authority. His abilities 
were good, but he was perfidious and ambitious ; and one 
less fit could scarcely have been found to administer the 
affairs of a free repubhc. He was intrusted, in August, 
1342, with the amplest powers of chief magistrate and 
general; but he aspired higher still. He intrigued 
throughout Tuscany to obtain the adhesion of the lower 
orders, and in Florence especially won over so many by 
his bribes, that, in a month after his acceptance of office, 
he was proclaimed lord of the city for life. He soon 
showed his true character, by leaguing with the Ghibe- 
line despots abroad, and tyrannizing over his subjects at 
home. Conspiracies were organized by those who still 
loved freedom in Florence. At an assembly of the lead- 
ing citizens, which he had summoned with the intention 
of putting to death all whom he suspected of treason, a 
concerted movement was made by the conspirators. A 
shout of " To arms ! " resounded through the city. His 
cavalry were stoned and disarmed, the streets were filled 
with hostile citizens, and the Duke was besieged in the 
Palazzo Vecchio, to which he had retired. Here he was 



COSMO DEI MEDICI. 181 

driven to yield by famine, but secretly escaped to Naples 
on the 6th of August, 1343. 

Florence, after this happy deliverence, was forced to 
maintain her position against her numerous opponents 
without external aid. Her most dreaded foe during the 
next half century was Milan, now governed by the house 
of the tyrant Visconti. John Visconti, archbishop of 
Milan, wai? master of sixteen Lombard cities, and in 
1350 obtained a surrender of Bologna from the Pepoli 
and Pope Clement VI. Without declaring war, in 1351 
John suddenly sent an invading army into Tuscany. It 
was gallantly resisted and driven back ; but the attempt 
was so unexpected that the Florentines felt their liberty 
constantly endangered. The gi'eat plague which rav- 
aged Europe at about the same period, and was espe- 
cially fatal in Florence, added to the disasters of the 
republic. The citizens were also much harassed by the 
aggressions of bands of soldier-adventurers, chiefly Ger- 
mans, which the Yiscontis and Delia Scalas introduced 
into Italy, as mercenaries in their pay. These roving 
bodies, which were obedient to no laws of God or man, 
and acknowledged only avarice as their guiding principle, 
were engaged by nearly all the Italian states in turn. 
Repeated assaults failed to subdue the gallant spirit of 
the republic, and the adventurers were at last forced to 
withdraw. 

The progress of art and literature, fostered by the 
study of Greek and Roman antiquities, which at this 
period was undertaken in Italy with the most burning 
ardor, amid all the interruptions of civil war, was no- 
where more remarkable than in Florence. Her citizens, 



182 COSMO DEI MEDICI. 

however, were happily proof against the w^eakness into 
which the love of the past betrayed those of Rome in 
1347, where Rienzi, an imaginative enthusiast, made a 
vain effort to restore the ancient glory of the Eternal 
City. Florence cultivated learning for its own sake, and 
assigned it its legitimate province. Petrarch and Boc- 
caccio are the most memorable names in her literary his- 
tory at this time. 

In 1354 the new Emperor of Germany, Charles IV., 
son of John of Bohemia, entered Italy, there to obtain 
recognition of his authority. His interference in politics 
was confined to the demand which he made for tribute 
from the various states, and Florence paid a heavy price 
for the purchase of her rights and his promise not to 
enter the city. He displayed an intriguing spirit, which 
aUenated his adherents, and he was eventually forced to 
quit Pisa and Sienna, where he had been received with 
open arms. The former, however, still remained Ghibe- 
line in feeling, and a lurking rivalry of Florence was 
perpetually at work in her councils. Though commer- 
cially attached to Florence by a treaty, there was an 
anti-commercial party in the state always ready for war. 
The Yisconti availed themselves of this body to excite 
old jealousies ; and after many insults, which the Floren- 
tines bore with great moderation, war was commenced in 
1362, lasting two years. It weakened both cities, and 
strengthened the Visconti, who aspired to subdue them. 
In Pisa, indeed, a lieutenant of Barnabas Visconti, chief 
tyrant of Milan, was received as Doge. Florence saw 
clearly that if she would preserve freedom, she must 
sustain a single-handed struggle with tliis powerful and 



COSMO DEI MEDICI. 183 

unscrupulous family. The Emperor, Charles IV., and 
the Pope, Urban V., indeed professed an intention to de- 
liver Italy from the scourge of tyranny, but effected little 
towards this result. Urban returned from France in 
1367, and formed a league with the Emperor, the Queen 
of Naples, and other Italian princes, against the Visconti ; 
but he was not supported by Charles, who even took 
bribes from the tyrants to preserve peace, and made 
himself so obnoxious to the citizens of Sienna, which he 
again visited in 1368, that he was attacked and expelled 
the city. Lucca, which generously received him, paid 
dearly for its purchase of liberty, but was assisted by 
Florence to make up the large sum which he demanded. 
The Pope's excommunication of the Visconti was quite 
unavailing, and his legates were actually forced to eat 
the bull, of which they were the bearers, — lead, parch- 
ment, and silk together. This daring insult so terrified 
Urban that he returned to Avignon. His successor, 
Gregory XI., proved worse than useless to Florence by 
his treacherous policy. His legate, after employing the 
troops of the repubhc in a successful assault at Bologna, 
which they wrested from the Visconti, suddenly deserted 
the alliance, made a truce with the tyrants, and even 
sent an English leader of mercenaries, named Sir John 
Hawkwood, to attack Florence itself. This monstrous 
perfidy exasperated the Florentines past bearing. They 
resolved on inflicting a signal punishment on the Church 
which they had so faithfully defended. Raising an army 
under the standard of " Liberty," they joined, with Pisa, 
Sienna, and Lucca, in a league (to which even the Vis- 
conti gave a worthless promise of adherence), the object 



184 COSMO DEI MEDICI. 

of whicli was to awaken a revolutionary spirit in tlie 
Papal States. The hatred of French interference was 
no doubt influential m promoting this unusual alUance. 
The attempt was singularly successful, eighty communi- 
ties freeing themselves of the Papal legates in a few 
days. Bologna accomplished her independence in the 
next year and alhed herself with Florence. Gregory 
took a frightful revenge on Faenza, one of the revolted 
towns, the inhabitants of which were brutally massacred 
by Hawkwood. The legate Cardinal of Geneva was a 
bloodthirsty emissary of the Church, and presided at the 
sack of Cesena, crying out to the soldiers to kill all the 
inhabitants : " Blood ! I will have more blood ! " Greg- 
ory himself returned to Rome in 1377, in the hope of 
saving his dominions, and peace was at length agreed to. 
The death of this Pontiff at Rome, in 1378, led to a 
great schism in the Church. The conclave of Cardinals, 
in accordance with ancient usage, had to meet at the 
place of the late Pope's death to choose his successor, 
and thus was originated an opposition to the long-prevail- 
ing influence of France over the Papacy. An Italian 
was elected as Urban VI., but proved so self-sufficient 
and distasteful to the Cardinals, that another Pope was 
chosen, in the person of the Cardinal of Geneva, whose 
cruelty has just been related. He was crowned as Clem- 
ent VII. ; and, under the protection of the Queen of 
Naples, first held his court there ; afterwards removing to 
Avignon. The two Popes and their respective adherents 
mutually excommunicated each other, and Europe was 
scandalized by this exibition of disunion in the centre 
of unity. The schism proved of some service to Ital}^, 



COSMO DEI MEDICI. 185 

where several cities which owed their freedom to Flor- 
ence were enabled to retain it. 

In the republic itself a new form of discord had broken 
out. The constitution was democratic, as has been shown ; 
but the choice of magistrates was limited to the seven 
leading corporations of trades, out of the twenty-one that 
existed. This restriction was justified by the superior 
inteUigence and wealth of the privileged bodies, which 
comprised the highest famihes of the commercial princes 
of Florence. A division commenced in the heart of this 
order, and rapidly extended. The Albizzi family was 
of the old Guelph party, and adhered strictly to the law 
which forbade any descendant of the Ghibehnes from 
election to the magistracy. This law was strained to 
the exclusion of all persons of recent origin. The Ricci 
family headed the new party, which endeavored to abol- 
ish sect names, and aimed at the extension of municipal 
distinctions to a larger number of trades. Prominent in 
this party was the Medici family, which, though of recent 
extraction, was remarkable for the abihty and commer- 
cial success of its members. • 

In 1378 Salvestro dei Medici, then Gonfaloner, pro- 
posed to suspend the anti-Gliibehne law on which the 
Albizzi insisted ; and liis proposition, though rejected by 
the Signoria, was approved and carried by a popular 
meeting. The' inferior trades, thus partially benefited, 
increased their demands, — agitating for the extension 
of privileges to all classes alike. This requisition was 
resisted by the Signoria, who even arrested and tortured 
one of the lower classes on suspicion of treason. The 
people then rose, under the leadership of a wool-carder, 



186 COSMO DEI MEDICI. 

named Michael Lando, who was made Gonfaloner. The 
palaces of the Podesta and Signoria were captured, and 
the whole government reorganized. Lando, considering 
his former position, proved a wise ruler. He preserved 
decorum and justice, checked the unruly spirit of his 
class, and passed a moderate law, by which the election 
of magistrates was to be made from all orders equally. 
The old Signoria, however, was not so easily displaced. 
Its members rejected the additions to their number, wliich 
were made by the new administration, and the Ricci party 
came into power. Unfortunately, some of the leaders 
abused it for their private ends. The Albizzi became 
popular ; and in January, 1382, exiled their opponents, 
and restored the aristocratic constitution. 

Florence was now called upon to resist the aggressions 
of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who had dethroned his uncle 
Barnabas, one of the most subtle and perfidious of the 
Milanese tyrants. After conquering nearly all Lom- 
bardy, he turned towards Tuscany, in 1388. Bologna 
and Florence formed an alliance, and gave the command 
of th«ir army to their former enemy, Hawkwood, whose 
services were open to all purchasers. The Visconti, how- 
ever, were successful against the German and French 
armies which the Florentines summoned to their defence. 
Peace was made in 1392, but soon broken, through the 
treachery of Galeazzo, who intrigued for the purchase 
and enslavement of Genoa, Pisa, Sienna, Bologna, Lucca, 
and Perugia, which he eventually obtained. 

Happily for Florence and Italy generally, he died of 
the plague in 1402, at the height of his power. In the 
confusion which followed this event, many of the con- 



COSMO DEI MEDICI. 187 

quered cities changed their sovereigns, or recovered their 
freedom. Pisa, however, was still governed by Gabriel, 
a natural son of Galeazzo. The possession of this city 
was of great importance to Florence, as its hostile atti- 
tude prevented her needful communication with the sea. 
Having vainly attempted to purchase Pisa, the Floren- 
tines resorted to war. After a year's gallant resistance, 
the Pisans, through the treachery of Gambacorta, their 
Captain of the People, yielded in 1406 ; but Florence 
tried in vain, by a just and generous policy, to appease 
the ancient hatred which existed between the two cities. 
The leading families removed elsewhere ; and Pisa, so 
long a free and flourishing commercial republic, became 
politically dead. 

A new antagonist now presented himself in Ladislaus, 
King of Naples, the son of Charles III., of the house of 
Anjou, who, after defeating his rival, Louis II., Duke of 
Anjou, in 1399, commenced a succession of aggressive 
acts on the States of the Church and Tuscany. Finding 
herself wantonly assaulted, Florence set up Louis II. as 
opponent to Ladislaus, and chose as their general an able 
Perugian noble, named Braccio da IVIontone. He re- 
conquered Rome from Ladislaus in 1410, but failed in 
preventing his success in Tuscany. The death of that 
monarch, in 1414, terminated the struggle. 

This was no sooner over than another commenced with 
the new Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, who 
revived his father's schemes against Florence. He had 
a skilful general in a Piedn:iontese, named Carmagnola ; 
whereas Florence was deprived of the services of Brac- 
cio by his death, in 1424. Six defeats did not weary the 



188 COSMO DEI MEDICI. 

patience or exhaust the courage of the brave Florentines, 
who, as a last resort, sent to request the aid of Venice. 
The ambassadors had not much influence, until seconded 
by the unexpected appearance of Carmagnola, who had 
been suddenly dismissed by the cruel and capricious 
Duke of Milan. The arguments of the fugitive pre- 
vailed, and war was commenced in 1426. It lasted for 
several years, the Venetians taking the most prominent 
part in checking the power of FiUppo. Carmagnola, as 
their general, obtained several successes, but suffered a 
defeat in 1431, which subjected him to the punishment 
of death by the disappointed and stern Venetians. Flor- 
ence also was worsted in an attempt on Lucca in 1430, 
but managed to hold her own in Tuscany. Still, her 
situation was disturbed with both external and internal 
discords, and a genius of wisdom and peace was greatly 
needed to put an end, if possible, to the existing causes 
of strife. 

We have dwelt at such length on the history of Flor- 
ence prior to the political appearance of Cosmo dei Med- 
ici, because the spectacle of turbulence which it discloses 
cannot fail to heighten our estimate of that man who was 
able to reduce the chaos to order and beauty. The lib- 
eral sentiments of his relative, Salvestro, have already 
been referred to. Cosmo's father, Giovanni, was as emi- 
nent for wisdom and moderation as for wealth, which he 
derived from his extensive commercial relations through- 
out Europe. Without seeking any political distmctions, 
all that the republic could afford were conferred upon 
him in the course of his life. On his death-bed, in the 
year 1428, he thus addressed his sons : " I die content, 



COSMO DEI MEDICI. 189 

after living the prescribed time, and leaving you, my 
sons, in affluence and health, — placed in such a station 
as, if you follow my example, will enable you to live 
here honored and respected. I reflect upon nothing in 
life with so much pleasure as on having given offence to 
no one, and having endeavored to serve all men as far as 
possible. I advise you to act thus, if you would Hve 
securely, accepting only such honors as are conferred on 
you by the laws and favor of the state ; for it is the ex- 
ercise of power which has been violently, not voluntarily 
obtained, that occasions hatred and strife." These words, 
which breathe the maturity of good sense and political 
experience, seem to have been accepted by Cosmo, the 
elder of the two young men to whom they were addressed, 
as the talisman of his cai*eer. He was born in 1389, and 
spent his youth and early manhood in the mingled occu- 
pations of commercial and public hfe ; acquiring by the 
former immense wealth, which he distributed with as 
large a generosity, — and in the latter, filhng the honor- 
able place of leader of the opposition to the Government. 
This was, and had been for half a century past, vested in 
the aristocratic faction headed by the Albizzi. By means 
of a halia, or select commission of the Parliament, the 
magistracy was confined to this party. The administra- 
tion had been on the whole just, and decidedly successful, 
yet partook of the abuses consequent on exclusiveness. 
The Parliament was a tool in the hands of the Council 
of Dictators, and did not represent the people. Party 
spirit was preferred to patriotism ; ambitious wars were 
rashly undertaken ; and the finances squandered by irre- 
sponsible officers. Against these abuses Cosmo declared 



190 COSMO DEI MEDICI. 

a steady, though constitutional opposition. The head of 
the state since the year 1427 had been Rinaldo degli 
Albizzi, whose pride and jealousy proved fatal to his 
house. He determined to check the growing influence 
of Cosmo, whose acuteness, firmness, and kindhness won 
him the admiration and affection of all classes. Secretly 
intriguing with his partisans, Rinaldo, in 1433, procured 
the election of none but his own friends to the new Sig- 
noria. Their first act was to summon Cosmo as an of- 
fender against the state, and commit him to prison. The 
Parliament acted obediently to its instructions, and Cosmo 
and his friends were sentenced to exile. He retired to 
Venice, where that republic received him with much 
respect ; but his absence from Florence was but brief. 
The Sigiioria of 1434 was less partial than its prede- 
cessor. Donati, the president, was attached to Cosmo, 
and revenged his expulsion by attacking the acts of 
Rinaldo ; who, however, refused to obey his summons, 
and held out by force. The docile Parliament, never- 
theless, obeyed Donati's voice, — the Medici were re- 
called and the Albizzi banished. 

While Rinaldo meanly employed his exile in exciting 
the Duke of Milan to make war against Florence, Cosmo, 
now at the head of the republic, availed himself of the 
opportunity to tranquillize and strengthen the Govern- 
ment. The process was too gradual to present any fea- 
tures of striking interest. He has been censured for selfish 
and ambitious views in the means which he employed; 
but his conduct is open to another construction. His 
boundless wealth, and the vast circle of influence which 
he acquired by his munificence and patronage, might 



COSMO DEI MEDICI. 191 

have procured him sovereign power. To this he never 
attempted to rise, and avoided all appearance of wishing 
to obtain it, by keeping his personal expenditure within 
the hmits of a citizen's pretensions. He was no doubt 
animated by the desire of authority, and spared nothing 
to insure it ; but as compared with his contemporary, 
Francesco Sforza (of whom more anon), and others simi- 
larly placed, Cosmo's moderation was conspicuous and 
admirable. Though he supported tyrants, he did not 
imitate them ; and both his foreign and domestic pohcy 
may have been guided by the love of order rather than 
power. The constitution of Florence remained as he 
found it, — still aristocratic, but no longer, like that of 
the Albizzi, unpopulai'. By measures sometimes rigorous 
and even unjust, but generally quiet and firm, the spirit 
of faction was repressed. The duties of peace were 
steadily perfonned. Commerce w^as sustained ; art and 
literature w^ere cultivated ; and all that patronage could 
accomplish was lavished on their professors. The revival 
of Plato's philosophy in Europe, and the foundation of 
ihe great Laurentian library at Florence, are due to 
Cosmo's wisdom and liberality. Abroad the republic 
was respected, without making itself detested by con- 
quests. It must, mdeed, be admitted that Cosmo did not 
carry out in office the principles which he avowed in 
opposition. The corrupt system, which the Albizzi had 
introduced, of silencing the popular voice in the national 
Parhament was not abandoned ; and an attempt made in 
1455 to establish a legitimate representation of the people 
was, after a trial of three years, forcibly put down. It 
would, however, be unjust to charge upon him the result 



192 COSMO DEI MEDICI. 

of a long series of despotic acts, for which the whole 
body of the aristocracy was really responsible. If a 
tyrant, Cosmo dei Medici was among the wisest and least 
arbitrary that ever obtained the name. Florence, in ac- 
cepting his rule, did not surrender her freedom ; for dur- 
ing at least half a century previous the government which 
she acknowledged was an oligarchy. This form Cosmo 
attempted not to change, but to improve, by securing its 
basis in the affection of the citizens. In this he certainly 
succeeded ; and on his death, in 1464, the Signoria ex- 
pressed the general sentiment by inscribing on his tomb, 
" The Father of his Country." 



THE TYRANTS OF MILAN. 

The history of Milan during the period at which we 
have been considering that of Florence, has far less inter- 
est, — less in proportion to the difference, in an English- 
man's eyes, between a lapse into slavery and a struggle 
for freedom. As typical, however, of the Lombard cities 
generally, Milan has an historical importance which de- 
mands our attention. 

During the two great wars between those republics 
and the Empire, and the Empire and the Church, it will 
be remembered that Milan stood at the head of the 
Giielph faction. The shameful ingratitude of Innocent 
IV., however, in 1251, after the death of Frederick II., 
sufficed to turn the scale, which had already at times vi- 
brated between the Guelphs and Ghibelines, considerably 
to the latter side. Unmindful of the faithful support and 
generous sacrifices constantly afforded by the Milanese in 
his behalf, he treated them as his slaves, and for some 
offence against ecclesiastical privileges threatened them 
with excommunication. The Ghibelines, profiting by the 
resentment occasioned by this dastardly conduct, strength- 
ened their position in the city. The nobles here, as else- 
where, were prominent in the ranks of this party. A 
9 M 



194 FKANCESCO SFORZA. 

temporary union took place between the rival sections in 
1259, against the tyranny of Eccelino, who, after Freder- 
ick's death, aspired to the sovereignty of Lombardy. A 
crusade was declared against him, in 1256, by Pope Al- 
exander IV. ; but the tyrant, with the aid of Milan and 
Brescia, which did not then suspect his views, was for 
some time victorious over the Papal armies. His crimes, _ 
however, made him distrusted, and in September, 1259, 
his allies deserted him. He was wounded and captured, 
dying a few days after, from an ob-;tinate resolve neither 
to have his wounds healed or take any food. 

The influence of the aristocracy in Lombardy made 
itself felt sooner, and to a more dangerous extent, than 
elsewhere in Italy. Admitted as citizens, yet proud of 
their lineage, and secure in the possession of armed horse- 
men and strong castles, the nobles could afford to despise 
and plunder the burghers. In opposition to this power, 
the citizens often had recourse to the expedient of mak- 
ing one of the more popular nobles head of the state, both 
in a military and civil capacity. Professing popular sen- 
timents, but at heart true to his order, he frequently 
abused his authority by despotic acts, and prepared the 
way for a perpetual tyranny. The family of Delia Torre 
was thus raised into importance. It sprang from Valas- 
sina, of which it possessed the feudal lordship. The prin- 
ciples of the house were Guelph ; and after the defeat of 
the Milanese by Frederick 11. at Cortenuova, in 1237, 
Pagano della Torre had sheltered the fugitives in his ter- 
ritory, and protected their return to Milan. This service 
was acknowledged by the grateful city to five generations 
of the family, each lord holding the office of Captain of 



FRANCESCO SFORZA. 195 

the People, and ranking superior to the Podesta and the 
judges. Other Lombard cities followed this example, 
and Philip della Torre, in 1264, was Governor of Como, 
Vercelli, and Bergamo also. As a counterpoise to the 
growing strength of this house, the Popes commenced to 
fjwor the Visconti, — a Ghibeline family in the neighbor- 
hood of Milan ; and thenceforth private rivalry often ob- 
scured the interest of political faction. Both, however, 
united in 1277 to substitute the tp-anny of the Visconti 
for that of the Della Torre family, and to secure the 
Ghibeline power in Milan. Otho Visconti, Archbishop of 
Milan, who was exiled by Napoleone della Torre, Cap- 
tain of the People, suddenly raised an army of his politi- 
cal friends, attacked, and captured his rival at Desio. 
Otho was received with joy by the Milanese, whom Na- 
poleone had irritated by his injustice and pride ; and was 
admitted to the same posts and influence. The chiefs of 
the Delia Torre languished m the confinement of an iron 
cage, and a new dynasty ruled over Milan. An attempt 
to restore the exiled family was successful in 1302, but 
for a brief period. The impartial endeavor of the Em- 
peror Henry VII., in 1310, to restore alike Guelph and 
Ghibeline exiles to their cities, has already been men- 
tioned. Guide della Torre, who was then Captain of the 
People in Milan, opposed tliis policy, which was fatal to 
his despotic schemes. It was, however, carried into ef- 
fect, and Matteo Visconti, who had been driven out by a 
Guelph league in 1302, returned with his Ghibeline 
friends. The demand of Henry for a tribute to his ai-my 
led to a commotion in Milan, which ended by the expul- 
sion of Guide della Torre and the Guelphs, and Matteo 



196 FRANCESCO SFORZA. 

recovered his former seat. He governed Milan with con- 
siderable vigor and popularity, and acquired the title of 
Great in his time. His chief exploits were performed in 
a war which he carried on for some years against the 
Lombard Guelphs, supported by the French, the King 
of Naples, and Pope John XXII. Visconti succeeded in 
taking Pavia and other cities ; besieged the King of Na- 
ples in Genoa, where he had fled ; and drove Philip de 
Valois (afterwards Philip VI.) back into France. But 
while successful against the Church in temporal things, 
he was spiritually its slave. A weak fear of losing his 
soul, in consequence of Papal excommunication, seized 
upon him in 1322. He abdicated in favor of his son, 
and died shortly afterwards. Galeazzo, his successor, 
was not at first acknowledged by the Milanese, who ex- 
pelled him, and proclaimed the republic. But tyranny 
and intrigue had taken too firm a hold of Milan to be 
shaken off. The exile was summoned back, and resumed 
his father's rule. 

The imprudent and mischievous interference of the 
Emperor Louis in Italian affairs, in 1327, lost him the 
attachment of Milan, among other Ghibeline cities. He 
was well received by Galeazzo Visconti, who surrendered 
into his hands the iron crown of Lombardy, and supplied 
him with a body of cavalry. Jealous either of Visconti's 
independent power, or of his treasures, Louis suddenly 
arrested his host and the leading members of the family, 
confined them in a dungeon, and threatened torture, un- 
less their wealth was yielded up. 

Azzo Visconti, son of Galeazzo, contrived to purchase 
the sovereignty of Milan from the Emperor in the next 



FRANCESCO SPORZA. 197 

year; and on his father's death, in 1329, succeeded to 
liis rank. The power of this family greatly increased 
during the fourteenth century. Genoa, after invoking 
its aid in a disastrous naval war with Venice, in 1353, 
gave up the Signoria of the city into its hands. Pavia 
fell before its victorious arras, in 1359, after a gallant 
attempt to achieve her freedom made by Jacopo de Bus- 
solari, who, though a monk, was an earnest patriot and 
a man of cultivated intellect. By means of their " com- 
panies of adventure," the Visconti kept their rivals in 
awe, and endeavored to weaken the stability of all free 
governments. Florence, as already related, was greatly 
in danger from the attacks of John Visconti, who was 
both Ai'chbishop and Lord of Milan. 

On his death, in 1354, two of his three nephews, Barna- 
bas and Galeazzo, after j)oisoning their brother, divided 
their uncle's territories. A successful attempt was made 
by Genoa to recover its freedom in 1356 ; but a league 
of the Delia Scala, tyrants of Verona, Este of Ferrara, 
Gonzaga of Mantua, and Carrara of Padua, with the Mar- 
quis of Montferrat against the Visconti, failed, through 
the treachery of the mercenaries employed by the league. 

The intrigues of Barnabas Visconti in Pisa, against 
Florence, and his defiance of the Pope and the Emperor, 
have been sufficiently dwelt on in the last biography. 
His nephew, Gian Galeazzo, after succeeding to the share 
of his father, in 1378, formed the design of dispossessmg 
his uncle and cousins of the rest. Assuming habits of 
retirement and devotion, he impressed Barnabas with 
the idea of weakness, and disarmed suspicion. In May, 
1385, Gian sent to his uncle, stating that on his way to 



198 FEANCESCO SFOEZA. 

a shrine near Milan, lie should be glad to meet him. 
Barnabas and his two sons accordingly went to meet 
Gian. On his uncle's approach the young man leaped 
from his horse to embrace him ; but at the moment of 
greeting called in German to his soldiers, " Strike ! " 
The attendants of Barnabas and his sons were overpow- 
ered, and they themselves captured and imprisoned. The 
old tyrant died a captive in December, 1385, and Gian 
Galeazzo obtained the throne. He carried to its height 
the aggressive policy of his family, and seemed to aim 
at the conquest of all Italy. Personally suspicious and 
fearful, his pubhc acts were conducted on a principle of 
intrigue, which served to cover the boldness of his ambi- 
tion. Nearly all his allies found out, too late, the error 
of forming alliance with one so untrustworthy and covet- 
ous. The best mercenaries, domestic and foreign, were 
in his pay, and he spared no pains to strengthen his posi- 
tion by matrimonial and other relations abroad. His 
daughter Valentina was married, in 1389, to the Duke 
of Orleans, brother of Charles VI. of France, — a mar- 
riage which subsequently gave a color to the designs of 
the French on Italy. 

In 1395, for the sum of 100,000 florins, Gian pur- 
chased the fief and nominal dukedom of Milan, which he 
had so long virtually held, from the weak Emperor Wen- 
ceslaus. By this title Visconti secured liis possession of 
Pavia and twenty-five other cities in Lombardy. This 
sale was repudiated by the next Emperor, Robert ; but, 
on his attempting to enforce his Imperial authority, Gian 
defeated him and his Florentine alhes, near Brescia, in 
1401, and drove him back to Germany. 



FRANCESCO SFORZA. 199 

Among the first of the Duke's conquests were those of 
his fellow-tyrants, the Delia Scala family of Verona and 
the Carrara of Padua. The revenge of Venice on the 
latter for having assisted her rival, Genoa, gave him the 
opportunity he needed. Attacked by Antonio della Scala, 
at the instigation of Venice, Francesco da CaiTara ac- 
cepted the aid of Gian. Verona was taken by his arms ; 
but he had the treachery soon afterwards to league with 
Venice for the conquest of Padua. It, too, fell in 1388. 
Francesco was secretly got rid of. His son fled to Flor- 
ence, while Gian turned to threaten his imprudent ally, 
Venice. By the aid of Florence, the young Carrai-a re- 
covered Padua, in 1390. In Ferrara Gian incited the 
Marquis d'Este to commit acts of violence towards certain 
members of that family, and thus schemed to bind him 
firmly in allegiance to Milan. Pursuing the same policy 
in Mantua, by a horrible mtrigue in the palace of Fran- 
cesco da Gonzaga, who had married the daughter of the 
late Barnabas Visconti, Gian persuaded her husband of 
her unfaithfulness, and procured her unjust death. But 
for the brave opposition of Florence to the designs of 
Visconti in Tuscany, they must have prevailed. No 
other city of importance held out. By a series of assas- 
sinations, plots, and open attacks, Pisa, Genoa, Perugia, 
Sienna, Bologna, and Lucca, fell into his hands one after 
another. The plague, as before stated, proved the best 
friend to Italian freedom, by carrying off the despot, in 
September, 1402. 

His two sons, Gian INIaria and Filippo Maria, were 
declared heirs to his dominions ; but as both were too 
young to rule, their mother, Catherine, and the leadmg 



200 FRANCESCO SFORZA. 

generals of the deceased Duke, were constituted guar- 
dians. The profligate and cruel acts of Catherine incited 
her subjects to rise, and in 1404 she was imprisoned and 
put to death by poison. The generals, who were only 
condottieri, or hired captains, and felt no attachment to 
the Visconti family, took advantage of the youth of their 
wards to obtain power for themselves. The Duchy was 
split up into independent states, which quarrelled one 
with another ; and acts of violence filled every city in 
Lombardy with blood. The elder of the two boys, Gian 
Maria, became a puppet in the hands of Facino Cane, 
one of his guardians, but was allowed sufficient liberty to 
exhibit his character, and give cause for gratitude that he 
was not allowed more. A nature so wantonly cruel and 
grossly passionate has seldom disgraced humanity. His 
chief pleasure seemed to consist in giving pain, and when 
tired of the chase, he would hunt human prey with his 
hounds in the streets of Milan by night. Criminals were 
surrendered to him by the judges for this brutal sport. 
After ten years of mock sovereignty, thus abused, he was 
assassinated by his nobles in May, 1412. Facino Cane 
died on the same day, and left the road to power open to 
the strongest aspirant. This was Filippo Maria, the sec- 
ond son of Gian Galeazzo. He arrived in Milan within 
a few days, and at once married the widow of the de- 
ceased general, thus securing his army and influence. 
By a series of victories during a period of ten years, 
Filippo's armies, under the leadership of Francesco Car- 
magnola (who has been already named), won back to 
the Duchy nearly all of which it had been deprived at 
the death of Gian Galeazzo. Filippo himself, however, 



FRANCESCO SFOEZA. 201 

rarely was present in the field. His character was a 
curious compound of boldness and fearfulness, and though 
eminently subtle in mtrigue, his fickleness and jealousy 
of others lost him the advantage of his most ingenious 
schemes. He carried out his father's policy in Tuscany 
and other parts of Italy, but met with the same opposi- 
tion from Florence. In these wars he was wise enough 
to secure able generals for his armies, and at various 
times the best condottieri in Italy were engaged in his 
service. . But his capricious temper soon disgusted his 
servants, and his perpetual jealousy of their power, and 
distrust of their designs, led him to act unjustly and sus- 
piciously. Among the most eminent of those who were 
once his commanders, and subsequently his opponents, 
was Francesco Sforza, whose history now claims our 
attention. 

His father, Jacopo Attenduolo (who acquired the sur- 
name Sforza at a later period), was born of peasant par- 
entage at Cotignola, near Faenza in Romagna. Of great 
personal strength and courage, the laborer soon spurned 
his simple vocation, and one day determined to decide by 
lot what life he should follow. Tossing his pickaxe into 
a tree, he vowed, that, if it remained among the branches, 
it should be an omen of a stantionary life, but if it fell, of 
an adventurous career. It fell, — and Jacopo took an 
early opportunity of joining a band of adventurers, then 
famous as the company of St. George, commanded by 
Albcrico, Count of Barbiano, — a man of more respect- 
able character than most of the condottieri, and whose 
soldiers, all Itahans, were tramed with the utmost mili- 
tary science and discipline. Under this leader, Jacopo 
9* 



202 FEANCESCO SFORZA. 

distinguished himself in the wars of 1375-8; the com- 
pany being first engaged by Barnabas Visconti and 
Florence, against the Papal legates ; and afterwards by 
Pope Urban VI. against his rival, Clement VII. In a 
battle at Ponte MoUe in 1378, the Breton mercenaries 
of the latter — the most dreaded of their class — were 
defeated by Alberico's band, which thenceforth ranked 
first. At the beginning of the next century we find Ja- 
copo an independent condottiere, and with but one rival 
in eminence, — Braccio da Montone, previously named. 
These captains were identified with two distinct systems 
of warfare, the latter having adopted an alteration of the 
old routine, by placing his troops in small bodies, each 
with an officer, and trusting for success to rapid and 
dashing charges ; while Jacopo improved the older sys- 
tem of moving men in vast sections, and maintaining a 
steady front. After a term of service with Gian Gale- 
azzo, Sforza was hired by Florence to lead her expedition 
against Pisa in 1405. He conducted the siege skilfully, 
and with final success, Pisa yielding up her liberty in 
November, 1406. In the war that soon after broke out 
between Florence and Naples, the former intrusted her 
armies to the command of Braccio da Montone, while 
Sforza transferred his services to the adventurous and 
unprincipled Ladislaus, then King of Naples. The 
States of the Church, and the Eternal City itself, were 
the objects of his avarice, and Sforza was his unscrupu- 
lous tool. The only bar to his progress in Tuscany also 
was Florence, and Braccio gained two or three victories 
over Sforza in 1410-11, but was worsted in the next 
campaign, which terminated by the death of the King in 



FRANCESCO SPORZA. 203 

1414. His sister, Joan II., reigned in his room, but soon 
had a contest to wage with Alfonso, King of Aragon, 
whom, having no children, she at first adopted, but after- 
wards displaced in favor of Louis III., of the house of 
Anjou. Sforza was now in great honor. In addition to 
large territories in Naples, he held the office of Great 
Constable, as well as that of General. It was by his 
influence that Louis of Anjou was brought forward, — 
his motive being jealousy and fear of Caraccioli, the 
queen's favorite, who was an adherent of Alfonso. As 
the commander of Louis's army, Sforza won several 
battles in the kingdom of Naples ; but in 1424, while 
attempting to ford the swollen river Pescara, in the 
Abruzzi, was drowned. 

His son, Francesco, was born in 1401, and at an early 
age was ennobled by the Queen of Naples. He stepped 
into his father's place as general of the queen's army, and 
succeeded to his possessions. 

The Neapolitan war was not long confined to a quar- 
rel between two dynasties. Filippo Maria Visconti sup- 
ported Louis, and Florence aiUed herself with Alfonso. 
This resulted in the former's successful campaign of 
1423-5, which has already been noticed. Florence, 
after long resisting the Duke single-handed, obtained the 
aid of Venice, and both united with Alfonso against Mi- 
lan. Carmagnola, who had been dismissed by the Duke, 
commanded the allied armies ; but Filippo engaged in 
his service three or four generals of equal eminence. A 
pupil of Braccio da Montone (now deceased), named 
Nicolo Piccinino, brought with him the best of the 
Bracceschi, as Braccio's soldiers were called, while 



204 FKANCESCO SFOKZA. 

Francesco Sforza headed his father's band, the Sfor- 
zeschi. 

The great campaign of 1426-31 was, as we have 
seen, for some time unfavorable to the Duke, in spite of 
his distinguished commanders. Francesco was taken pris- 
oner at the battle of Macalo, in 1427, where the Milan- 
ese were utterly defeated^ but was released by the cour- 
tesy of Carmagnola. After several defeats fortune turned, 
and Francesco was the hero of the battle of Soncino, in 
1431, which retrieved the Duke's cause, and proved fatal 
to the generous Carmagnola. 

Peace was now made, but lasted only a short time. 
On the expulsion of Rinaldo degli Albizzi from Florence, 
in 1434, he repaired to Milan, and excited Filippo against 
the republic. War was recommenced in that year, but 
Sforza no longer led the Milanese armies. Ill-rewarded 
by the Duke, he left his service, and now appeared at 
the head of the Florentines. He defeated Piccinino, the 
Milanese general, in several engagements during this 
campaign, which lasted, with occasional breaks, till 1447. 
Sforza meantime developed talents far above those of a 
mere general. He cultivated an intimacy with Cosmo 
dei Medici, who often assisted him with money, and doubt- 
less imparted to him much of that political wisdom which 
distinguished his own rule. After severe losses, Filippo 
showed an apparent desire for peace, and with this view 
made overtures to Sforza in 1441 ; promising to give 
him his natural daughter, Bianca, to wife, with the dower 
of Cremona and Pontremoli. Francesco, seeing in this 
match a stepping-stone to the Dukedom, — for FiHppo 
had no son, — consented, and the marriage was celebrated 



FRANCESCO SFORZA. 205 

in the same year. The Duke's jealousy of his son-in-law 
led to a rupture of peace. Sforza had obtained from 
Pope Eugenius IV. a grant of the March of Ancona as a 
fief. Into this territory Filippo treacherously sent his 
general Piccinino, with an invading army, and at the 
same time incited the Pope and Alfonso, now King of 
Naples, against Francesco. The latter, with his duties 
as general of Florence, had, by this additional task of 
repelhng invasion, work enough on his hands for two 
men ; but he bravely sustained his burden, — carried on 
the war against Filippo in Lombardy, and against Pic- 
cinino in Romagna. The Duke was at last so hardly 
pressed by the Venetians, that he proposed terms of re- 
conciUation with Francesco, who, no doubt from politic 
motives, and not from faith in one so traitorous, agreed 
to desert his post and join the Milanese. His treachery 
was not carried into execution, as, on his way to Milan, 
he received news of Filippo's death, in August, 1447. 

Milan, so long crushed beneath a despotic yoke, was 
not yet utterly degraded. The fertile soil of Lombardy, 
the garden of Italy, favored the toil of the husbandman 
and the skill of the manufacturer. In spite of tyranny 
and civil war, the commerce of Mian and other Lombard 
cities was extensive, — while the citizens, saved by des- 
potism at least from the oppression of an oligarchy, were 
not overburdened by taxation. Thus circumstances were 
not so wholly unfavorable as they seemed to the growth 
of liberal ideas, and in the heart of Milan there yet beat 
a pulse of freedom. On the death of Filippo Visconti 
without lawful heirs, or any male issue, the title of Duke 
was extinct. An opportunity thus being afforded them, 



206 FEANCESCO SFORZA. 

four of the leading citizens, Trivulzio, Cotta, Bossi, and 
Lampugnani, ventured to proclaim the republic. • The 
mass of the citizens joined them, and engaged the best 
condottieri of the late Duke in the service. This seemed 
a death-blow to the schemes of Francesco Sforza ; but he 
was not easily discouraged, and bided his time. He vol- 
unteered to join the republic with his army, — condition- 
ally on the confirmation to him of Cremona, which he 
had received in dower with his wife. 

Filippo Visconti had, some years previously, been com- 
pelled to yield Brescia, Bergamo, and other places, to 
the Venetians ; and one of the objects of his late war was 
to recover these possessions. On the proclamation of the 
republic of Milan, peace would have been made had Ven- 
ice agreed. But the Doge, Foscari, aimed not only at 
retaining the ceded territory, but acquiring more, and 
refused terms of peace. Meantime the Duke of Orleans 
(cousin of Charles VII., then King of France) claimed 
the Duchy of Milan in right of his mother, Valentina, 
daughter of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, and sent an army 
to invade it. Sforza was on terms of intimacy with the 
Dauphin of France, afterwards the perfidious Louis XI., 
and therefore would not himself command the Milanese 
against the French. He first put down a rising in Pia- 
cenza, which aspired to independence, and cruelly plun- 
dered it. Siding with the Ghibelines, — a party which 
still existed in Milan, — he incited them to reject a prop- 
osition made by the Guelphs of the city for peace with 
Venice. Then advancing against the Venetian army, he 
gained three or four decisive victories, and in October, 
1448, made a treaty with that repubHc, by which he 



FRANCESCO SFORZA. 207 

yielded up Brescia and Bergamo, on condition of obtain- 
ing its assistance in conquering Milan for himself. This 
shameful treachery was first made known to the Milanese 
by his refusing to obey the instructions of their Commis- 
sioners ; and the news of the treaty excited the utmost 
surprise and anger. Sforza was, however, supported by 
several of the Lombard cities, which were jealous of 
Milan. Its brave citizens procured some troops from the 
Duke of Savoy, and prepared for resistance. Venice, 
now fearful of Sforza's power, played false to him, by 
making a treaty with Milan, in 1449, to acknowledge the 
republic, but at the same time agreed to secure the Gen- 
eral's claims on the cities which had declared for him. 
He meantime craftily concealed his disappointment, con- 
sented to the treaty, and withdrew his invading army 
from Milan. Waiting until the citizens were short of 
supplies, he suddenly reappeared, and besieged the city. 
The succor of Venice was in vain. He defeated its 
troops, and continued the siege. Famine at last reduced 
the citizens, in February, 1450, and Francesco Sforza 
entered as Duke of Milan. 

He signalized his success by a moderation scarcely to 
be expected of him. By a mild and yet firm policy he 
reconciled the people, in great measure, to their slavery. 
Justice was secured to all ; taxation was kept upon its 
former footing ; and the crown officers were chosen from 
natives instead of foreigners. These wise measures, which 
were probably owing in some degree to the sound advice 
of his friend Cosmo, were followed up by a liberal expen- 
diture on the improvement and adornment of the city,* 
which served to employ the poorer classes and gratify 



208 FEANCESCO SFORZA. 

the higher. The Ducal Palace, a large hospital, and the 
canal which unites the city with the river Adda, are due 
to Sforza's hand. 

He was for many years opposed by Venice, but held 
his own in Lombardy. Cosmo del Medici, influenced 
alike by personal friendship and political interest, secured 
him the support of Florence, and a reconciliation w^as 
effected with the Pope and Alfonso of Naples. Louis 
XI. of France still remained his ally; and the refusal 
of the irresolute Frederick III., Emperor of Austria, to 
acknowledge the new Duke of Milan, gave him no con- 
cern. Finally, after a desultory war with Venice on the 
one hand, and the Duke of Savoy on the other, Sforza 
made peace with both, ceding Brescia, Bergamo, and 
Crema, to the former, and fixmg the river Sesia as the 
boundary between the latter and his own territory. In 
1455 a general league was happily accomphshed between 
the four leading Itahan powers, — Florence, Venice, Na- 
ples, and Milan. One of the objects of this alliance was 
to secure Italy against the probable assault of the Turks, 
who had recently captured the city of Constantinople, 
and conquered the Eastern Empire from the Greeks ; 
thus finally extinguishing the ancient dominion of Rome. 

One of Sforza's last acts was the acquisition of Genoa. 
He achieved this by thi^owing his power in the scale in 
favor of Ferdinand (son of Alfonso, King of Naples, 
recently deceased), who, on his father's death, had to con- 
tend for the throne with the descendants of the house of 
Anjou. Joan II., and Louis III. of Anjou, her adopted 
son, died in 1435, and Rene, the brother of the latter, 
was named by the Queen's will as her heir. Alfonso of 



FRANCESCO SPORZA. 209 

Ai'agon, however, by the assistance of Filij)po Yisconti, 
overcame his rival, and reigned in peace from 1442 till 
his death. Genoa, which had accepted the sovereignty 
of Visconti, was attached to the Anjou dynasty, and, on 
his fiivoring the Ai-agonese, revolted. Sforza always 
bore in mind this loss, and aspired to retrieve it. On 
the death of Alfonso, in 1458, his son Ferdinand, though 
illegitimate, was acknowledged his successor ; but having 
offended the Neapolitans by his t^Tannical conduct, they 
set up John, son of Rene of Anjou, as a competitor. This 
prince looked for Sforza's assistance, which had been 
given to the Anjou dynasty hitherto ; but at this moment 
Genoa, torn by internal factions, placed itself under the 
protection of the French King, Charles VII. Sforza 
coveted Genoa, and feared the power of France. He 
therefore refused to help John of Anjou, and prevented 
his obtaining aid from Florence, where Cosmo dei Medici 
was still dominant. This policy was wisely conceived, 
and proved fortunate. John, who governed Genoa as a 
viceroy of Charles VII., disgusted the citizens by heavily 
taxing them to support his ambitious views. Ferdinand 
succeeded in Naples ; Genoa expelled its French garri- 
son, and after a brief period of anarchy gave up it3 sov- 
ereignty to Sforza in 1464. 

His rule extended over the cities of JMilan, Pavia, 
Piacenza, Cremona, and Como, together with Lodi, No- 
vara, Alessandria, and other cities which form part of the 
present kingdom of Sardinia. To these he added Parma, 
in Central Italy, and now Genoa. After a reign of six- 
teen years he died of the dropsy, in 14G6, at the age of 
sixty-five. Though unscrupulous in obtaining power, 

N 



210 FRANCESCO SFOEZA. 

Francesco Sforza was a favorable specimen of tlie Italian 
tyrants, as whose representative we have taken him. His 
private life was dishonored by no excesses ; and, though 
ruthless as a conqueror, he was humane as a sovereign. 
His masterly political genius entitles him to the first in- 
tellectual rank in that school of diplomacy and intrigue 
which, about this period taking root in Italy, has spread 
so extensively throughout Europe down to the present 
time. 



C|risto|ij)cr Cohniihis. 

THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 

It is a relief to turn from the feverish excitement of 
selfish ambition, and the clamorous ferocity of the battle- 
field, to the calm enthusiasm of selfless science, and 
the noiseless daring of the field of maritime discovery. 
There the destroyer, — here the creator rules ; there the 
turbulent passions of man overpower and obscure his 
higher attributes, — here the goodness of God and the 
weahh of nature supply fresh food for mental culture, 
and open new channels for the spread of rehgion and 
civilization. 

During the period which we have been considering, 
the Italian cities of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice took the 
lead in commerce with the East. The fifteenth century 
brought Portugal as a new competitor into the field, but 
its distance from the great seats of traffic led to enter- 
prises being undertaken in otlier du-ections. The South 
and the West were yet unexplored. Some Spanish ad- 
venturers, however, having lighted on the Canary Islands 
in 1393, Don Henry, the accomplished Infante of Portu- 
gal, sent a vessel in 1412 to explore the African coast. 
Madeira was discovered in 1418 by another Portuguese 
expedition, or at least rediscovered, for a legend exists 



212 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 

of an Englishman named Macliam, who was accidentally 
wrecked there in the previous century. Later expe- 
ditions resulted in the exploration of the whole coast of 
Western Africa and the Cape of Good Hope in 1486. 
Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese nobleman, subsequently 
crowned this discovery by pursuing the route to India, 
and thus applying science to the enlargement of com- 
merce. The invention of the astrolabe, for ascertaining 
the altitude of the heavenly bodies and determining lati- 
tudes at sea, and the application of the magnet as the 
mariner's compass, greatly contributed to these results. 
Spain in the fifteenth century began to occupy a prom- 
inent position in Europe. The Moorish power had, by 
a series of encroachments on the part of the Christian 
states, gradually dwindled down to the possession of the 
single province of Granada. These states were now 
resolved into three, of which Navarre was comparatively 
isolated from the other two, which were of great size and 
importance, Castile and Aragon. The marriage, in 1469, 
of Isabella, the high-minded and beautiful heiress of Cas- 
tile, with the able though crafty Ferdinand, heir to the 
crown of Aragon, reduced under a solid government the 
hitherto divided races of Spain, and resulted in the final 
fall of the Moorish dominion. The attention of the sov- 
ereigns was soon directed to the condition of their com- 
merce. Jealousy of the Portuguese trade imbittered the 
political "War of the Succession" between Spain and 
Portugal, which occupied nearly five years at the outset 
of the new reign. The war, which arose out of a dispute 
as to the crown of Castile, terminated in 1479 by the 
defeat of Portugal ; but a clause was fortunately intro- 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 213 

duced into the treaty of peace, reserving to the latter the 
sole right of traffic on the African coast. But for this, 
Spain might not for centuries have been led to undertake 
expeditions in the West, and Christopher Columbus might 
not have been the hero of the adventurous enterprise with 
which his name will be eternally connected. 

Cristofero Colombo (as his name is in Italian) was 
born in the state of Genoa, about the year 1441, or 
perhaps somewhat later. His parents were of humble 
origin, and poor, but contrived to send him to the famous 
school of Pavia, where he devoted his time to his favorite 
studies of geometry and astronomy. An enthusiasm for 
the sea induced him to leave school at the age of four- 
teen. He made repeated voyages to various parts of 
Europe, and engaged himself as captain in the service 
of Naples and Genoa. The dissensions of his native 
state drove kim. to Lisbon, where he married. Thence 
he took a voyage to the North, and seems to have 
reached Iceland, and even Greenland. He visited also 
the Guinea coast, and resided some time at the newly 
discovered island of Porto Santo, of which the father of 
his wife was governor. Here he heard rumors of a vast 
continent far out to the west, the outline of which the 
islanders to this day believe they occasionally see. Drift- 
wood curiously carved, and the bodies of strange men 
thrown upon the western shores of the island, indicated 
the existence of unknown races. These rumors were 
confirmed to the mind of Columbus by his devout belief 
in the Scriptural predictions of the universal sway of 
Clu'istianity ; and he burned to be the harbinger of truth 
and civilization to the new world. This continent he 



214 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 

identified with the Cathay (Northern China) and Zipan- 
gu (Japan), of which tlie Venetian, Marco Polo, had 
been the first European explorer in the thirteenth cen- 
tury ; and which were placed by geographers so far to 
the east, that Columbus, adopting the conjecture of the 
earth's spherical shape, considered they would be reached 
soonest by voyaging west. 

Full of these hopes, he applied first to his native 
country for assistance in his schemes, but without suc- 
cess. He fared no better at the court of Portugal, 
where he obtained indeed a hearing, but was rejected. 
He soon after had the mortification of learning that 
his project was secretly carried out by the Portuguese, 
who sent a vessel in the direction indicated on his charts. 
The pilots, lacking his courage and spirit, put back after 
a short trial, and ridiculed the scheme as visionary. 
Angry at such unworthy treatment, he repaired in 1484 
to the port of Palos, in Andalusia, and thence set out for 
the Spanish Court. Stopping at the convent of La 
Rabida, near Palos, to beg some refreshment for his son 
Diego, — for Columbus was luuch reduced in funds at 
this period, — the Superior, an intelligent ecclesiastic, 
named Marchena, engaged him in conversation. A dis- 
cussion of the project ensued, which so delighted Mar- 
chena that he gave Columbus a letter of introduction to 
the Queen's confessor, and, meantime, undertook the care 
of young Diego. The confessor, Talavera, a narrow- 
minded scholar, gave the adventurer no encouragement ; 
but by this acquaintanceship Columbus made hmself 
known at Court, and gradually interested some of the 
leadino: courtiers in his views. A council was at last 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 215 

appointed by Ferdinand to discuss them, but after a delay 
of five years it came to an adverse decision. Columbus 
liad actually quitted the Court in disgust, and determined 
to apply to the Court of France, when, in repassing La 
Eabida, the friendl}^ Marchena pressed him to await the 
result of another application. The friar himself took a 
journey to Granada, and had an interview with the 
enlightened Isabella. This led to an invitation being 
given to Columbus, who again repaired to the Court. 
Here, at an interview with Ferdinand and Isabella, he 
stimulated the interest of the former, by representing the 
wealth of the countries which Marco Polo had described, 
and the zeal of the latter, by picturing the extension of 
Christianity to the heathen. He demanded only the 
reasonable reward of a tenth of the profits of whatever 
lands he might discover, and the title of Admiral and 
Viceroy for himself and his heirs. This was refused ; 
and he once more turned his face towards France : but 
his numerous friends at court convinced the Queen how 
fair were the conditions proposed. She immediately en- 
tered into the scheme with the utmost enthusiasm, — 
volunteering to pawn her jewels if needed, and under- 
taking to charge the expenses on her own Castilian rev- 
enue. Columbus was recalled, received a courteous 
greeting from the Queen, and finally, in 1492, after a 
delay of eight years, the agreement between the Court 
of Spain and himself was signed. Three vessels were 
fixed on as suitable, though of small size : the Santa 
Maria, which was commanded by Columbus ; the Pinta, 
by an eminent navigator, Alonzo Pinzon ; and the Nina, 
by his brother Ganez. The expedition was so unpopular 



216 CHKISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 

with the Spanish, that criminals who volunteered as 
sailors were promised exemption from punishment. The 
crew at last amounted to about one hundred and twenty ; 
and on the 3d August, 1492, the fleet set sail. 

After a brief stay at the Canary Islands it put out to 
sea. When beyond sight of land, many of the crew lost 
courage, — shedding tears, as though persuaded of the im- 
possibility of returning home. Columbus restored their 
hopes by his eloquent promises, and had recourse to an 
expedient for keeping them in ignorance of the distance 
they were voyaging, by having two reckonings, — one 
accurate for his own use, and the other inaccurate for the 
crew. Flights of birds seemed to suggest the vicinity of 
land in various directions, but steadily bearing in mind 
the cherished vision of a continent, Columbus refused to 
go aside in search of small islands. The wind, which 
had blown from the east till the 20th of September, then 
changed to southwest, and the crew clamored to take 
advantage of it, and return home. With admirable wis- 
dom and patience Columbus combated this movement, — 
threatening some and assuring others. But the continu- 
ance of the unfavorable wind, and the frequent disap- 
pointments which were experienced by appearances of 
land, that vanished on closer inspection, drove the crew 
into actual mutiny, and Columbus was called upon to ex- 
ercise his utmost vigor and presence of mind. His Ufe 
was in danger, but he never yielded his claims upon their 
obedience, and had succeeded in partially appeasing the 
revolt, when at midnight, on the 11th of October, there 
was a cry of " Land ! " For several days the indications 
of its being near had been increasingly numerous, but 



CHEISTOPHER COLIBIBUS. 217 

had so often proved untrue, that they failed to insure be- 
lief. Now there could be no doubt, and the manifesta- 
tions of joy and hope among the crew exceeded the recent 
outburst of discontent and despair. All watched sleep- 
lessly during the night, — anxious for the dawn. It broke 
upon a coast of verdant hills and valleys, and by sunrise 
the vessels reached the shore. Columbus, bearing the 
royal standard, landed with his crew, and at once planted 
a crucifix, before which they knelt with tears of gratitude. 
He then took possession of the island, as it proved to be, 
in the name of the King of Spain, and entitled it San 
Salvador. It is now identified as one of the Bahama 
group. The crew then assembled round their admiral, 
and swore fealty to him as Viceroy, asking forgiveness 
for the trouble they had occasioned him by their attempted 
mutiny. 

The shore was peopled with naked and painted savages 
of both sexes, who seemed timid rather than fierce, and 
had to be coaxed into familiarity. When their wonder 
at the complexion and habits of the Spaniards .was sa- 
tiated, they readily exchanged their golden earrings for 
beads and other trifles. Seven natives were retained on 
board as interpreters, and after a short stay the fleet 
sailed southwards, and discovered the islands to which 
were given the names of Conception, &c. Having ascer- 
tained from the gestures of the natives that their gold 
came from a southern country which was called Cuba, 
Columbus steered in that direction, and on the 27th of 
October came in sight of the island. From its name, as 
pronounced by the people, he at first deemed it must be 
the Zipangu of his search, but was soon compelled to re- 
10 



218 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 

ject the supposition. The Cubans proved to be savages, 
possessing similar characteristics to those of the other 
islanders, — wholly unhke the civilized inhabitants of 
Japan, as described by Marco Polo. For years, how- 
ever, the new world was held to be part of India, and 
hence the people were known as Indians. At Cuba, 
Alonzo Pinzon deserted with his vessel, — animated by 
an avaricious desire of first reaching the island of Hayti, 
which the Cuban islanders reported as the chief gold 
country. Columbus reached it in December, and an- 
chored near the spot where the town of Cape Francois 
was afterwards peopled. The natives were so timid as 
to preclude intercourse, until one of them, who was acci- 
dentally upset in his canoe, was rescued by the Spaniards, 
and treated so kindly that the others flocked to the vessels. 
Their chief, or cacique, came to meet Columbus, who re- 
ceived him with great respect. Gold was readily bar- 
tered by the islanders for trifling articles ; but the mines 
whence it was derived were said to be in a country fur- 
ther east. The fleet sailed in that direction, but the 
Santa Maria struck on a reef, and Columbus and his 
crew were forced to escape in the Nina. The cacique of 
Hayti gave every assistance to the Spaniards, and nothing 
was stolen from the wreck by the natives. Columbus, at 
the request of the chief, erected a fort on the bay of Car- 
acole, and manned it with thirty-eight Spaniards, to aid 
the Haytians against the attacks of the Caribs, — a fierce 
tribe, which invaded the island in ships. Thus was es- 
tablished the first European colony. In January, 1493, 
Columbus met Alonzo Pinzon on the northern coast of 
the island, and generously forgave his desertion. Both 



CHKISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 219 

vessels set out on the homeward voyage in the same 
month. A heavy gale separated them near the Azores, 
and proved almost fatal to the Nina, in which the Admi- 
ral was. He even despaired of life, but, anxious to save 
his discovery, wrote two accounts of it on parchment; 
threw one, fixed in a sealed cask, into the sea, and left 
the other on board. Happily the storm ceased, and the 
Nina anchored at the Azores in safety. It reached the 
port of Palos in March, at about the same time that the 
Pinta arrived at a northern port. Columbus was greeted 
with transports of joy at Palos, and entered Barcelona, 
where the Court was stationed, amidst a public proces 
sion. Some of the natives from the islands followed in 
his train, and the gold and other curiosities which he had 
brought were duly displayed. Ferdinand and Isabella 
received him at a full court, — raising him from his knees 
as he bent before them, and ordering him to be seated. 
He then recounted his adventurous voyage, and exhib- 
ited his treasures. A confirmation was accorded to him 
of his privileges, and other honors were conferred on him. 
A second expedition was immediately set on foot, 
with greater preparations than previously. Materials for 
stocking and cultivating the new territory were amply 
supplied by the Treasury, — seventeen vessels chosen, 
and a colony of artisans, miners, and others speedily col- 
lected. Twelve missionaries accompanied the fleet, and 
Columbus received full instructions to treat the island- 
ers with kindness, and extend by every fair means the 
spread of Christianity. A bull of Pope Alexander VI. 
was then obtained, confirming to the Spanish Crown the 
possession of all the lands recently or thereafter to be 



220 CHEISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 

discovered by its enterprise. The fleet set sail from 
Cadiz, in September, 1493. Upwards of 1,500 persons 
of all ranks embarked on board, and the government of 
this motley assemblage soon occasioned serious anxiety 
to Columbus. As a foreigner, and a successful discoverer, 
he was exposed to the jealousy of the Spanish adventur- 
ers, who accompanied the expedition in great numbers ; 
and as an earnest, high-minded enthusiast, he had noth- 
ing in common with their avarice and selfishness. Con- 
stant mutinies disturbed the voyage, and were only 
quelled by his manly and dignified firmness. The dis- 
covery of Jamaica and the Caribbee Islands was the 
result of this expedition, and the colonization of Hayti 
(which was also known as St. Domingo, or Hispaniola) 
was extensively carried out. But the licentious and un- 
ruly conduct of many of the Spaniards exasperated the 
simple natives into revolt, while the neglect of agricul- 
ture in the search for gold, detracted from the success of 
the colony, and brought odium on the name of Columbus. 
The rebellion of the islanders led to their severe punish- 
ment, — an act of authority which the Admiral was un- 
willingly compelled to discharge, and for the cruelties 
attending the execution of which he must not be held 
responsible. He was assailed with unjust calumnies by 
the colonists, but on his return to Spain, in 1496, had 
the gratification of being received cordially by the sov- 
ereigns, before whom he cleared his character. The 
Queen, especially, favored him with her warm and sin- 
cere patronage. He made his famous third expedition in 
May, 1498, with but six vessels, — the scanty exchequer 
of Spain, drained by a war in Italy, not allowing a more 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 221 

liberal supply. This voyage resulted in the discovery 
of the Parian coast of South America, and the mouths of 
the river Orinoco. In Hayti, whither he next repaired, 
he found the utmost confusion prevalent, and it .occupied 
him upwards of a year to reduce the colony to order. 
His exertions in this work, which obliged him to pmiish 
severely many of the leading colonists, brought upon his 
head a discharge of rage and slander, which lost him the 
favor of Ferdinand, and even weakened the confidence 
of the Queen. Several of the colonists returned to 
Spain, and represented the Admiral as aspiring to sov- 
ereign power in Hayti, and misappropriating its reve- 
nues. His adoption of the common Catholic doctrine 
that heathen nations had no civil rights, as being out of 
the pale of the Church, and his zeal for the conversion 
of the islanders, led him to sanction their enslavement as 
the shortest road to that end. This well-meant impru- 
dence — which she disavowed by cancelling the decree 
of slavery — w^as the chief cause of Isabella's consenting 
to the proposition of her council, that a special commis- 
sioner should be sent to supersede Columbus. A knight 
named Bobadilla, who, though chosen with some care, 
proved a most unfit person, was accordingly despatched, 
in July, 1500. His instructions were very large, but he 
exceeded them in his treatment of Columbus, whom he 
loaded with fetters, and sent home as a criminal. The 
Admiral, deeply wounded, but firm of heart and con- 
science, made no resistance, and the vessel reached Ca- 
diz, bearing the discoverer of the New World as a pris- 
oner to the Old World, which his discovery had enriched. 
Both the sovereigns, and all who were honorable and 



222 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 

generous in Spain, felt indignant at this shameful sight. 
Isabella was especially concerned at learning the indig- 
nity put on so illustrious a man. He was at once re- 
leased, and furnished with a retinue and money for his 
expenses. He had an interview with the sovereigns at 
Granada, where the kindness of the Queen so touched 
his wounded spirit, that his firmness gave way and he 
burst into tears. He was promised redress of his inju- 
ries ; but it was considered prudent to send out another 
governor to the colony, where his name was in such ill- 
favor. Nicholas de Ovando was sent out in 1502, and 
Bobadilla was ordered home for trial ; but perished on 
the route, with all his fleet, save that vessel only which 
contained the private property of Columbus. This re- 
markable retribution seemed to many a special inter- 
ference of Providence on behalf of this deeply injured 
man. 

Though now of advanced age, the enthusiastic pioneer 
of science would not relinquish his long-cherished scheme 
of finding a passage to the Indian Ocean between Cuba 
and South America, which, from the character of the 
coast, he rightly inferred must exist, though ignorant that 
it would prove to be an isthmus. He was supplied with 
a small fleet for this expedition, and set sail in March, 
1502. 

At Hayti he was actually denied shelter by the gov- 
ernor, Ovando, and was driven by storms to the Gulf of 
Honduras, whence he vainly essayed to find the southern 
passage. He attempted to colonize the coast, but was 
prevented by the attacks of the savages, and thence re- 
turned to Hayti, where he was at length allowed to enter, 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 223 

though treated with discourtesy and ingratitude. His 
crew, which had been mutinous throughout the voyage, 
was nevertheless generously treated by him, and a ves- 
sel for the homeward passage was fitted out at his own 
cost. 

After a perilous voyage he arrived at the port of St. 
Lucar, neai* Seville, in 15Q4. The news of the Queen's 
death speedily reached him, and the cold nature of Ferdi- 
nand gave him Utile reason to expect an extension of 
that patronage which Isabella had afforded him. He was 
unprepared, however, for the treatment he actually re- 
ceived. Though met with outward marks of respect, the 
share of revenue to which he was entitled, by the agree- 
ment made with the Crown before his first voyage, was 
withheld ; and now in his old age, and suffering from dis- 
ease, he was reduced to poverty. After vainly applying 
for redress, he hngered another year in neglect, only sus- 
tained by conscious rectitude and faith in God, and died 
at ValladoKd in May, 1506, at the age of nearly seventy 
years. 

Such was the fate of one of the noblest martyrs of sci- 
ence. Animated with a lofty and devout aim for the ex- 
tension of religion and civilization, and the increase of 
knowledge, he stands foremost in the rank of discoverers. 
No lust of gain or power led him to cross the seas, and 
imperil life, fame, and fortune, in the service of ungrate- 
ful foreigners. Deliberately just and generous in his 
treatment of liis fellow-laborers, and the tribes with which 
he came in contact, he may be pardoned for ever having 
injured either by indulging too freely his imaginative 
dreams, or carrying out too zealously his rehgious convic- 



224 



CHRISTOPHER COLmiBUS. 



tions. His is one of the few names wliich can be re- 
corded with satisfaction as that of a colonizer, who exer- 
cised the privilege of Man to subdue the earth, without 
abusing it for the sake of national glory or private in- 
terest. 






ITALIAN POLITICS IN THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH 
CENTURIES. 

The life of a statesman, though not exciting in itself, 
is the effuse of excitement in others. Kings, armies — 
even nations — are often but the puppets of a single 
man, who is seldom seen out of the council-room. A 
decree of his framing, an intrigue of his devising, may 
open or close a civil war, put thousands to death, or de- 
velop new materials for the support of the human race. 
This vast authority was more especially capable of being 
exerted at a period when, in the absence of an open par- 
liament and a free press, popular influence was weaker 
than is happily the case in our own day. The Ufe of 
Machiavelli, who was the moving spring of Italian poli- 
tics during his time, may be taken as a fair illustration of 
this historical condition. 

The history of Florence, since the death of Cosmo del 
Medici in 1464, must first be briefly sketched. His son, 
Pietro, succeeded to his father's position of chief of the 
republic, but governed with far less popularity, and a se- 
verity which evidenced conscious weakness. Many dis- 
tinguished citizens emigrated, and the people were only 
kept quiet by being amused with splendid festivals and 
10* O 



226 NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI. 

spectacles. Pietro's infirm health obhged him to surren- 
der the administration into the hands of his officers, who 
abused their trust to his prejudice. 

He died in 1469, leaving two joung sons, Lorenzo and 
Giuliano, who, on reaching manhood, gave signs of a ty- 
rannical disposition. A feeling of discontent meantim^e 
agitated the breasts of many, both in and out of Florence, 
who loved their country. A slight attempt was made, in 
1470, at the town of Prato, to shake off the yoke which 
the Medici were now manifestly seeking to impose ; but 
it failed for want of prudent management. 

In 1478 an organized conspiracy was set on foot by 
the Pazzi family, one of high rank and position in Flor- 
ence. The conduct of the Medici which gave offence in 
this case was their refusing to allow any of the Pazzi to 
be called to the Signoria. The leading members of the 
house secretly formed a scheme, to which a large number 
of persons was made privy, for assassinating the tyrants 
and restoring liberty to Florence. Pope Sixtus IV. gave 
the conspiracy his sanction, and promised aid; being 
prompted by his hatred of the Medici, who opposed his 
selfish plans for endowing his nephews with the richest 
benefices in the Church. Salviati, Archbishop of Pisa, 
whom the brothers had refused to acknowledge, was also 
one of the conspirators. The murder of Lorenzo and 
Giuliano was fixed for the 26th April, 1478, at the time 
of a religious ceremony at which they were to be present 
in the cathedral. All were in readiness on the day ap- 
pointed. At the elevation of the host, the two conspira- 
tors who had undertaken to stab Giuhano effected their 
purpose; but the attempt on Lorenzo failed. He es- 



NICCOLO MACmAVELLI. 227 

caped, and the conspirators were tak^n or killed. The 
plot miscarried in other places tlu-ough a series of blun- 
ders. The populace supported the cause of the rich des- 
pots, and revenged the death of Giuliano, mstead of rising 
at the cry of " Liberty." The result was the confirma- 
tion of tyranny on an increased scale. Lorenzo was ad- 
dressed as a prince, and lived in a manner becoming that 
rank. His title of Magnificent has been handed down to 
modern times. It was better deserved for the splendid 
patronage which he gave to literature and art,* than for 
any pohtical glory that he obtained. His rule was nei- 
ther prosperous at home nor successful abroad. Sixtus 
IV. united with the King of Naples and the republic of 
Sienna against him in 1479, and signally defeated his 
army. His only ally was Milan, which was now under 
the government of the widow of Galeazzo (son of Fran- 
cesco) Sforza, a profligate and ferocious tyrant, who had 
been assassinated in 1476 by three young noblemen of 
Milan. The Swiss of Uri, hired by. the Pope, defeated 
the Milanese troops which the Duchess had raised to sup- 
port Lorenzo ; and shortly afterwards she was deprived 
of the throne in favor of her son, Gian Galeazzo, a youth^ 
who nominally ruled under his uncle, Ludovico Sforza, 
the real sovereign. Lorenzo, in this perilous position, 
threw himself on the consideration of Ferdinand of Na- 
ples. By threatening that he must have recourse to 
France (the Anjou dynasty of which still asserted a right 
to Naples) if not supported by Ferdinand, and promising 

* The illustrious scholar, Politiano, and Michelangelo Buonarotti, 
equally celebrated as architect, sculptor, and painter, glorified Flor- 
ence in this reign. 



228 NICCOLO MACHIAVELLL 

to render assistance in obtaining the government of Si- 
enna for the King's son, Lorenzo prevailed. A treaty- 
was signed on these terms in 1480, which would have 
been carried out to the ruin of Tuscany, had not an unex- 
pected landing of a Turkish force on the southern coast 
of Calabria recalled the Neapohtan army, and put an end 
to Lorenzo's alarm. He made use of this freedom from 
external aggression to enslave Florence more effectually. 
The Parliament, and the halia, or committee which it cre- 
ated, were superseded by a council of seventy, which was 
to be perpetual, and to exercise an arbitrary power in 
selecting the magistrates of the republic. The finances 
of the state were then fraudulently employed in disburs- 
ing the debts acquired by the extravagance of the Medici 
family. Lorenzo was reconciled to Sixtus IV. in 1480 ; 
but the avarice of that pontiff, who leagued with Venice, 
in 1482, to part between them the possessions of the Duke 
of Ferrara, occasioned another dispute, in which Florence 
sided with Naples and Milan against the League. The 
war terminated by the death of Sixtus, in 1484. Lorenzo 
was engaged in wars or plots throughout his reign, — as- 
piring to put down the last spark of liberty which occa- 
sionally gleamed in the republics of Genoa, Sienna, and 
Lucca, and allying himself with the tyrants of Milan and 
Naples. He died in 1492, in the prime of hfe. 

Hjs eldest son, Pietro, succeeded to his rule, but 
proved without strength to support it. A revolutionary 
spirit was at work in Florence, mainly through the 
influence of Savonarola, an earnest, though fanatical 
reformer both in politics and religion. The timid policy 
of Pietro with respect to the invasion of Charles VHI. 



NICCOLO MACHIAVELLL 229 

of France, in 1494, whose attempt on the kingdom of 
Naj^les will be hereafter noticed, led to the restoration 
of the republic. In fear of being attacked by Charles, 
Pietro sought an interview with him, and weakly surren- 
dered several important fortresses into his hand. The 
enraged Florentines drove out the Medici, and, by adopt- 
ing a firm tone in treating with Charles, obtained his 
promise to restore the fortresses at the close of the war. 
By the advice of Savonarola, the Council instituted by 
Lorenzo dei Medici was enlarged, so as to assume the 
character of a Parliament. The career of this zealot ter- 
minated by his martyrdom in 1498, through the instru- 
mentality of the depraved Pope Alexander YI. (Borgia) ; 
but the republic still maintained its self-government. 
Pisa made herself independent at the moment of the 
Medici's expulsion, after a slavery of eighty-seven years, 
and obtained the assistance of Venice and Milan in re- 
sisting Florence. The claims of Louis XII. of France 
on the duchy of JMilan, in right of his grandmother. 
Valentina Visconti, gave the Florentines an opportunity 
of allying themselves with him, and procuring his aid to 
reduce Pisa. The intrigues of Pope Alexander YI. to 
procure the elevation of his natural son, Ccesar Borgia, 
as Duke of Romagna, led him to seek the alliance of 
France on the one hand, and to threaten Florence on the 
other, — the restoration of the Medici to which would 
have favored his schemes. Yenice, meantime, steered 
between the conflicting parties, allying itself now with 
Milan to support Pisa, then attacking Florence with the 
view of restoring the Medici, and afterwards making a 
treaty with Louis XII. against Milan. Lastly, the Em- 



230 NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI. 

peror Maximilian of Germany began to reassert the 
riglits of the Empire in Italy, and to interfere in the 
Pisan war by sending troops to the besieged. Amid this 
web of politics the form of Machiavelli first appeared in 
1498. 

He was born at Florence in 1469, of a good family, 
and at an early age became secretary to the Ten, or 
Board of Foreign Affairs. He was soon noted for his 
smgular discretion and penetration, and was employed 
by the republic on its most dangerous and delicate mis- 
sions. After two or three minor engagements, he was 
despatched, in the year 1500, as a commissioner to the 
Florentine army, which was besieging Pisa. Louis XH. 
had just succeeded in deposing Ludovico Sforza, the 
Duke of Milan, and effecting the conquest of Lombardy. 
He then allied himself with Florence, whose assault on 
Pisa he assisted with a body of French and Swiss troops. 
But these auxiliaries proved mutinous, and insulted the 
repubhcan officers ; finally throwing up the siege, and 
even possessing themselves of portions of the Florentine 
territory. Cassar Borgia, meantime, was pursuing his 
course of perfidy, selfishness, and cruelty in Romagna ; 
menacing Florence, and intriguing for the help of Louis 
Xn. Machiavelli was accordingly sent, in July, 1500, 
to France. Here he skilfully performed his difficult 
task of reconciling the republic and its offisnded ally. In 
spite of Borgia's machinations through his partisans at 
the French Court, Machiavelli succeeded in awakening 
against him the fears and jealousy of Louis. The result 
of this mission was shown soon after, when Borgia sud- 
denly attacked Florence, but was ordered to desist by 



NICCOLO MACHIAVELLL 231 

the French King. A treaty between Borgia and the 
repubhc was then agreed to. 

In 1502 the two ablest poUticians in Italy set them- 
selves against each other in a match of diplomacy. Bor- 
gia had reconciled himself with Louis XIL, and obtained 
promise of aid in conquering Romagna, of which he was 
nominally Duke, though resisted by the Bentivogli, lords 
of Bologna, and a few petty princes. He had endeavored 
also to excite an insurrection against the Florentines in 
Arezzo and other of their dependencies. Meantime, 
some of his captains, angry at his perpetual bad faith, 
and suspicious of his intentions against themselves, re- 
volted, and invited the assistance of Florence. This was 
not given, for fear of France, with which the republic 
desired to be on good terms, but Machiavelli was sent to 
Imola, where Borgia was stationed, to profess friendship, 
yet at the same time watch his movements. It must 
have been deeply interesting to witness the remarkable 
display of intellectual acuteness which this mission called 
forth. To those who have seen the portraits of the two 
combatants, and remember the dark and cruel beauty of 
the Mthe and diminutive Borgia, and the cold, subtle wis- 
dom of the tall and attenuated Machiavelli, the scene 
will suggest an encounter between a tiger and a serpent. 
Each hated and feared the other, yet both were anxious 
to secure the alliance of France, and accordingly made 
the most cordial advances. The reports of his proceed- 
ings which the Florentine sent home to the republic are 
still extant, and are held to be models of political writing. 
He was a spectator of the savage and treacherous re- 
venge which Borgia took at Sinigaglia, on several of the 



232 NICCOLO MACfflAVELLL 

revolted captains whom he invited to a conference. An- 
otlier, named Petriicci, who occupied Sienna, would have 
fallen by the same hand, but for the timely intimation 
of Machiavelli to his own government. Borgia, under 
professions of close alhance with Florence, endeavored 
to persuade Machiavelli that it would be politic to obtain 
for him the command of the republican army ; but this, 
too, was thwarted by the ambassador's craft. He pro- 
cured from Borgia a safeguard for Florentine merchants 
through E-omagna, and returned home in January, 1503. 
Soon after he was sent to Rome, to be present at the 
election of Pope Julius II., who had succeeded Alexan- 
der VI., on the death of that pontiff by the poison — as 
it is thought — which he had prepared for another. 
Julius signalized his accession by attacking and over- 
coming Caesar Borgia, of whose fall in 1504 Machiavelli 
was a spectator. By his advice the tyrant's troops were 
disarmed by the Florentines, and Italy was freed from 
its most fearful scourge. 

The country, however, was still an arena of unceasing 
wars and intrigues, ravaged on all sides by foreign ag- 
gressions and worn by internal dissensions. The Spanish 
monarch, Ferdinand, after promising help to the Aragon- 
ese house of Naples, treacherously agreed with Louis 
XII. of France to divide the kingdom of the two Sici- 
lies, and then possessed himself of the whole, by driving 
out the French. Louis XII. was master of Lombardy, 
and Genoa, with its surrounding dependencies; and to 
strengthen his position still further, leagued with the Em- 
peror Maximilian of Germany and Pope Julius II. to 
conquer and divide the republic of Venice. This league 



NICCOLO MACHIAVELLL 233 

was known as that of Cambrai, where it was signed in 

1508. Florence, meantime, was employed in guarding 
itself against the plots of the Medici, now represented by 
the two brothers of Pietro, who had died in 1503. It re- 
tained its free government under the wise guidance of 
Pietro Soderini, who was chosen perpetual gonfaloner, 
or chief magistrate, in 1502, and worthily fulfilled his 
trust. He accomplished, in 1509, the task of reducing 
Pisa, which had long held out against the republican 
forces. Machiavelh, as foreign secretary, was engaged 
in various capacities during these years ; and especially 
directed his attention to the subject of standing armies, 
which he urged the republic to employ instead of mer- 
cenaiy soldiers, whom he justly considered dangerous 
tools. 

The League of Cambrai was carried into execution in 

1509. Venice had excited the anger of the Pope by 
the aggressions which, on the fall of Cassar Borgia, it 
deemed itself strong enough to make with impunity on 
the States of the Church. France and Germany were 
merely actuated by love of conquest and hatred of a 
republican form of government. The war was carried 
on with varying fortune by the allies, when Pope Juhus 
II., who, though passionate and revengeful, was not tyran- 
nical or unpatriotic, became convinced that it was the 
mtention of his alhes to enslave all Italy. He com- 
menced his plans for preventing this result by levying 
mercenary troops in Switzerland, a country which was 
nationally opposed to Germany, and ill-disposed towards 
the haughty and insolent French. Florence, though 
taking no part in the war, was in alliance with France, 



234 NICCOLO MACHIAVELLL 

and looked with fear on the success of the Pope's de- 
signs, lest it should lead to the restoration of the two 
Medifii, — the elder of whom, Giovannij was a Cardinal 
and Papal Legate. In July, 1510, Machiavelh, who had 
deeply studied the political condition of Italy at tliis 
time, was despatched to France. His object was to 
strengthen the alliance of the repubhc with that country, 
to urge Louis to prevent the Swiss from enlisting in the 
Pope's service, and with this view to maintain the League 
of Cambrai. In numerous interviews with the French 
King and his ministers, Machiavelli developed his ideas 
on the subject of Italian politics. Their soundness was 
fully borne out by the events. During his absence from 
Italy, a concerted movement had been set on foot by the 
Papal emissaries in Switzerland, aiid tlie French were 
attacked in several places at once. Juhus deserted the 
League of Cambrai, and formed a new league (called 
the Holy) with Spain, England, Switzerland, and Venice, 
against France and Germany. Machiavelli succeeded 
in confirming the alliance of Florence with France, and 
returned home in September, 1510. 

The young French general, Gaston de Foix, Due de 
Nemours, a youth of twenty-two, by a series of rapid 
movements took Bologna, which the Pope's general, 
Paymond de Cardona, had besieged, — retook Brescia, 
which, after its conquest from the Venetians, had revolted 
against France, — and at the great battle of Ravenna, 
fought Avith the Papal army on the 11th of April, 1512, 
died in the arms of victory. The Emperor Maximilian, 
however, suddenly and treacherously deserted his ally, 
and recalled his German troops. Attacked at the same 



NICCOLO MACHIAVELLL 235 

time by the armies of Spain and England, the French 
lost the advantages recently obtained. Lombardy was 
regained by Maximilian, son of Ludovico Sforza, and 
Genoa proclaimed a repubhc. The Holy League then 
turned on Florence. The citizens had offended the Pope 
by their Frenc^^ alliance, and as a punislunent were sac- 
rificed to the Medici. The latter readily gratified by 
ample promises the avarice of the Spanish and Swiss 
mercenaries, who undertook the task of enslavement. 
The cruel massacre of the citizens of Prato by the Span- 
ish, who assaulted it in August, 1512, terrified some of 
the leading Florentines, who, after obtaining from Giu- 
liano, the younger of the two Medici, a pledge that many 
of the republican privileges should be maintained, ad- 
mitted him in the following September. Cardinal dei 
Medici, who entered soon after, violated this pledge in 
spirit, by restoring the parliamentary halia, and insuring 
the sovereignty of the state in the hands of his family. 
Among the members of the old government and popular 
party, who were in consequence banished, was Machi- 
avelU. 

He was considered to be implicated in a conspiracy 
against the Medici in the following year, and was put to 
the torture ; but, confessing nothing, was soon after re- 
leased by order of the Cardinal, now Pope Leo X., so 
famous for his patronage of art and letters.* MachiavelH 
then retired into private life for some years, and employed 
his leisure in writing, among other works, his treatise 

^ It must suffice to name only as their chief i-epresentatives the 
immortal Kaffaele Sanzio, the prince of painters, and the fascinating 
poet, Ariosto. 



236 NIGCOLO MACHIAVELLI. 

called The Prince^ in which he expounded the lessons 
which his long political experience had taught him. 
There is more worldly wisdom than morality in the prin- 
ciples which he here lays down ; but great allowance 
must be made, in our judgment of his moral character, 
for the time in wliich he lived, and the education which 
he had received. Only the liighest and noblest natures 
are able to uphold their standard of right in days when 
perfidy and injustice ai'e the rulmg laws of society. Ma- 
chiavelli can neither be ranked in this exceptional class 
nor in its opposite. Though led astray by an admiration 
for genius which blinds his eyes, he is not insensible to 
the beauty of virtue. He seems to possess an inherent 
regard for truth, — disappointed by repeated failures to 
find it. Living among men whom he suspects, and who 
suspect him, he points out the most expedient methods 
of managing them ; among which he includes the em- 
ployment of theii' own weapons against them. This is 
not a defensible system, but at the same time should not 
be branded as that of an unscrupulous and unprincipled 
teacher, — epithets too often applied to the great Flor- 
entine. 

He wrote this work for the perusal of one of the Med- 
ici family, with which he became reconciled, and whose 
power he desired to see established in preference to that 
of a foreign ruler, with which Lombardy and Naples 
were cursed. Machiavelli's historical works and come- 
dies evince original thought and extensive observation. 
He again mixed in political affairs after 1521, but not 
prommently, and died in 1527. 



ij\t €\Mk ^aprb. 



THE FRENCH INVASION OF ITALY. 

In the mountainous province of Dauphine, on tlie 
southeastern frontier of France, there stood, in the fif- 
teenth century, the fine old Gothic Chateau de Bayard, 
— a fortress and a residence in one, as was usual at that 
period. Here, for many generations, the Seigneurs de 
Bayard had fixed the seat of their feudal lordship, — 
gallant warriors all of them, living and dying for country 
and king. In a chamber of this mansion, one day in the 
year 1488, its lord, the Seigneur de Bayard, lay dying. 
It was rarely that a chief of this family died on any bed 
save the battle-field ; and one may fancy that the old sol- 
dier, who had received many a wound, and often met 
Death face to face in the recent wars, lamented as he lay 
that his fate had not been ordered like that of his ances- 
tors who fell at Cressy and Poictiers. His mind was no 
doubt engaged in these reflections when, shortly before 
his death, he sent for his four sons, and asked them what 
kind of Hfe they wished to follow. The eldest answered 
that he would remain at home, and fulfil his duty to his 
parents ; the two youngest said they desired to rise to 
honors in the Church; the second son, Pierre, a boy 
of thirteen, alone replied, with the spirit of his ancestors, 



238 THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 

" My choice is a soldier's life ! " Cheered by these words, 
the old warrior died in peace, and was gathered to his 
fathers. His son Pierre prepared to fill his place. To 
support the ancient reputation of the family for gallantry 
and martial skill, it was needful that the boy should be 
regularly educated in the profession of arms. Accord- 
ingly, his mother obtained him a position as page in the 
household of the Duke of Savoy, where he would be 
certain to mix in the society of valiant and experienced 
soldiers, and might chance to see actual service in the 
field. The boy's head was filled with romantic ideas of 
his future career, and when the day of his departure from 
home arrived, he was eager to go. One of his biogra- 
phers thus describes the way in which his mother bid 
him adieu : " The poor lady was in a tower of the castle, 
bitterly weeping ; but when she knew that her young 
son Avas on his horse, impatient to be gone, she went 
down to take leave of him, and, as earnestly as a mother 
could advise a son, gave him three commands. The first 
was to love God above all, recommending himself to God 
night and morning, and serving him in every way, as far 
as possible without offence. The second was to be cour- 
teous to all men, casting away pride ; not slandering, 
lying, or talebearing, but being temperate and loyal. 
The third was to be charitable, and to share whatever 
gifts God should bestow upon him with the poor." A 
simple, yet a wise sermon this, which Pierre never for- 
got, but set himself to follow throughout his life, — a life 
exalted by the highest principles of honor and purity, 
unstained by a trace of meanness or selfishness. At the 
court of the Duke of Savoy, Bayard remained five years, 



THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 239 

which were steadily devoted to the practice of knightly 
duties and accomplishments. He displayed liie greatest 
fitness for the profession he had chosen, and attained 
extraordinary skill at tilting especially. At the age of 
eighteen he carried off the prize in a tournament, at 
which some of the most famous French knights were 
his rivals. At the same age he entered the service of 
Charles VIII., King of France. 

This monarch was one after Bayard's heart, — daring, 
generous, and gentle. Rashly ardent and impulsive, he 
was guilty of a thousand follies, but few crimes. He had 
fed his mind from childhood with chivalric romances, to 
the exclusion of sohd reading, and burned to equal the 
exploits of Charlemagne. Persuading himself that he 
was destined to be the conqueror of Italy, which France 
had long lusted to possess, and founding his pretensions 
upon a worthless will of the King of Provence, who, as 
representative of the Anjou dynasty, had bequeathed the 
crown of Naples and Sicily to Louis XI., Charles assert- 
ed a claim to the former kingdom, then held by Ferdi- 
nand, son of Alfonso of Ai^agon. A general attempt on 
Italy was, at the same time, invited by Ludovico Sforza, 
Duke of Milan, whose plans to enslave it required as- 
sistance. Against the advice of liis most experienced 
counsellors Charles assembled an army, scantily provided 
with money or provisions, but animated with a fiery en- 
thusiasm. In addition to his troops, a band of young 
noblemen volunteered to accompany him, and Bayard 
was foremost in the ranks. There seemed but little 
probability of the attempt succeeding, but the heroic 
spirit of such men as Bayard prevailed over every obsta- 



240 THE CHEVALIEK BAYARD. 

cle. Charles crossed the Alps in August, 1494, marched 
through Italy, not only without opposition, but in triumph ; 
and in January, 1495, advanced towards Naples. Its 
king, Ferdinand, had recently died, and Alfonso, his suc- 
cessor, was unequal to the occasion. He fled to Sicily, 
leaving his son Ferdinand to lead the army. At the ap- 
proach of the French, however, the Neapolitans fled, and 
Charles subdued the kingdom with ease. After wasting 
much time in diversions at Naples, he retraced his steps 
to attack the armies of the Pope, Spain, Germany, 
Venice, and IVIilan also, which in the interval had been 
leagued against him. The opposition so suddenly ex- 
hibited by the last-named state, at whose invitation 
Charles had entered Italy, was occasioned by Ludovico's 
suspicions of the ultimate designs of France on his duke- 
dom ; to which, indeed, it had already asserted a right, in 
virtue of the marriage of Valentina Visconti with the 
Due d'Orleans. 

Charles left a considerable body of troops in Naples ; 
and on reaching Fornuovo, a town at the foot of the Ap- 
ennines, near Parma, where the allied army, amounting 
to 40,000 men, was stationed, found that his own did not 
exceed 9,000. The materials of which it was composed, 
however, now became apparent. In spite of these fear- 
ful odds Charles determined to attack the enemy. The 
battle-field was a narrow valley at the passage of the 
river Taro. On the 6th of July, 1495, the two armies 
encountered. Settling themselves in a body, the French 
rushed forward and charged the dense mass of the allied 
Italian ai-my. Bayard was in the thickest of the fight, 
— a boy of twenty only, but an arch-hero among heroes, 



THE CHEVxVLIER BAYARD. 241 

— performing feats of prodigious valor. Two horses 
were killed under him ; but he fought on still. The re- 
sult of this and similar acts of courage was, that the 
French, outnumbered as they were, utterly routed the 
Italian forces, broke through the ranks, and pursued their 
march, losing only eighty men, but leaving 3,000 of the 
enemy slain on the field. This success, however, did not 
sulTice to establish the French in their conquest of Naples, 
from which they were soon after driven out by the Span- 
ish troops which King Ferdinand called to his assistance. 
However groundless may have been the claim of 
France to the throne of Naples, in support of which this 
foolhardy expedition was undertaken, the title was no 
doubt considered valid by the French nation. If we 
duly reflect on the character of the feudal system, which, 
by enforcing the rigid obedience of every tenant to his 
superior lord, rendered loyalty a sacred duty, and private 
conscience less important than mihtary discipline, we 
shall judge leniently of such good and true men as 
Bayard, when we find them engaged in unrighteous wars. 
He seems to have felt no scruples in joining the army 
which, on the death of Charles VIH., was raised by his 
successor, Louis XII., to renew the attempt on Naples. 
Louis made a secret treaty with Ferdinand of Spain, 
whereby the two monarchs agreed to assist each other' in 
first conquering, and then dividing, that kingdom. The 
armies of France and Spain united to carry out the 
former part of this treaty, and succeeded in expelling the 
weak prince who filled the NeapoHtan throne ; but the 
latter part of the treaty was not so easily fulfilled, and 
the conquerors soon quai'relled among themselves. 
11 p 



242 THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 

In 1502 Louis declared war against Spain, and com- 
menced the task of expelling his late allies. The French 
army was commanded by the Due de Nemours ; and 
that of Spain by " the Great Captain," Gonsalvo de 
Cordova. Bayard distinguished himself at the siege of 
Canosa, a fortified town in Apulia, garrisoned by the 
Spaniards, against which he headed two desperate as- 
saults. The siege was finally successful, and the garrison 
capitulated. 

Trani, on the Adriatic, was the next scene of his 
exploits ; and here he was the hero of a personal adven- 
ture. The knights on both sides were in the habit of 
showing their prowess, by engaging in tournaments and 
single combats during the intervals of regular fighting. 
A Spanish knight, Alonso de Sotomayor, on one of these 
occasions, charged Bayard with discourtesy to him when 
a prisoner, — an accusation which Bayard denied, and 
defied the Spaniard to prove in duel. Sotomayor, know- 
ing his antagonist's fame as a horseman, chose to fight 
on foot. 

On the appointed day, February 2, 1503, the lists were 
prepared, and the two knights entered, clothed in mail, 
but having the visors of their helmets up, and armed 
with swords and daggers. Each knelt to pray, and rose 
up to fight; "the Good Knight, Bayard," says one of 
his biographers, " moving as light of step as if he were 
going to lead a fair lady in the dance." He was not 
powerfully made, and was at the time weakened by a 
recent fever ; but possessed great bodily agihty and mas- 
terly skill. Sotomayor was a man of unusual size and 
strength, upon which he relied for success. And now 



THE CHEVALIER BAYABD. 243 

the eyes of the two armies are upon them, as thej ad- 
vance to the struggle. The Spaniai'd strikes heavily 
and fiercely, as if to crush his foe to the earth. The 
Frenchman parries the blows, and darts rapidly from 
side to side, striking seldom, but surely. At last, Soto- 
mayor overbalances himself by a false thrust, and Bayard 
dashes in, — his sword cleaving the gorget, and entering 
the throat of his foe. With one fierce and agonized 
effort Sotomayor seizes Bayard in his arms, and the 
combatants fall together. With a sudden motion of his 
left hand, Bayai'd thi*usts his poniard through the open 
visor of the Spaniard, and pierces the brain. The day 
is won, but at a heavy cost ; and when the songs of the 
minstrels are heard proclaiming the conqueror's glory, 
Bayard sternly silences the unseemly joy, kneels to give 
thanks to Heaven, and then sadly leaves the hsts, uttering 
a heart-felt lament that, in order to vindicate his personal 
honor, it had been necessary to sacrifice a brave man's 
life. 

In the latter part of this year (1503) Bayard per- 
formed achievements, as far more arduous as they were 
nobler than any of his previous acts. After the loss of 
two battles, and the death of their commander, the French 
found themselves opposed to the Spaniards on the banks of 
the river GarigHano, on the northern frontier of the Nea- 
politan dominions. A bridge over this stream was the great 
centre of action, and scenes of fearful carnage occurred 
in the repeated attempts of each side to seize this strong 
position. On one occasion the French succeeded in 
crossing the river, but were dinven back by the Span- 
iards. Bayard was in the vanguard when the repulse 



244 THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 

commenced ; and while retreating, still kept liis face to 
the foe. The Spaniards pressed on ardently, but did not 
reach the bridge soon enough to cut off the retreat. The 
main body of the French recrossed the river ; but Bay- 
ard, like another Horatius Codes, remained upon the 
bridge alone. Two hundred Spaniards attacked him; 
but, single-handed, he kept his ground for upwards of an 
hour, and drove back each assailant, until he had allowed 
time for all his countrymen to make good their passage, 
and form on the opposite bank. Then he, too, slowly 
retired to join them. 

Another desperate act of valor is recorded of Bayard 
in the same campaign. The final and disastrous defeat 
of the French on the Garigliano was temporarily re- 
trieved by a gallant charge of their knights at Mola di 
Gaeta. The Spaniards were in full pursuit ; but at the 
bridge before this place the French turned, and stood at 
bay. After a fierce conflict, in which Bayard had three 
horses killed under him, accompanied by a few daring 
comrades he made a bold dash into the enemy's ranks, 
and was carried so far by his impulsive charge that, but 
for the succor of his friend, Sandricourt, he would have 
fallen or been captured. No efforts of personal courage, 
however, could suffice to restore the broken fortunes of 
the French army. Gonsalvo and the Spaniards obtained 
complete victory, and Naples was lost to France. 

The life of Bayard is almost an epitome of the history 
of the wars in which France was engaged during his 
time. Wherever the oriflamme waved, he and his men- 
at-arms might be seen fighting beneath it. In 1507 
Genoa revolted, and Bayard conducted a daring assault 



THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 215 

on an outpost at the siege of that city. His next remark- 
able appearance was at the memorable defeat of the 
French by our Henry VIII., which took place at Guin- 
gette, near Terouenne, in Picardy, on the 16tli August, 
1513, and was known as "the Battle of the Spurs." 
Here the good Knight and a few kindred spirits alone 
preserved their honor amid the disgrace which fell upon 
the whole army of France. Owing to some panic, or 
mistake of orders, the French cavalry fled before the 
English; and the battle — as its popular name imports 
— was decided rather by swiftness of horse's foot than 
strength of man's arm. Had it not been for Bayard, the 
■whole army would have shared in this shameful flight. 
But he, true to his practice of facing his enemy, slowly 
retired, sword in hand, fighting as he went. At length 
he halted with but fourteen men-at-arms at a small 
bridge, where only two could pass abreast : " We will 
halt here," he cried ; " the enemy will be an hour in 
gaining this post. Hie to the camp, and tell them to 
reassemble during the interval." Here stood Bayard, 
firm as a rock, hewing down all who ventured to assail 
him, until the retreating French had time to reassemble ; 
and then, as his work had been accomplished, he yielded 
to the pressure of numbers, and voluntarily surrendered 
himself prisoner to a knight, whom he had himself for 
that purpose first captured. Led into the presence of 
Henry VIII., that monarch, then young and chivalrous, 
received his gallant opponent with respect. When Hen- 
ry's ally, the Emperor Maximilian of Germany, gave 
utterance to a taunt that he thought Bayard never fled ; 
" Sire," was the manly answer, " if I had fled, I should 
not have been here." 



246 THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 

Owing to the peculiar circumstances of his capture, 
Bayard was set free without ransom, and soon rejoined 
his comrades in arms. The treaty of Orleans, however, 
between Louis XII. and his enemies, and the speedy 
death of that King, for a brief period silenced the sounds 
of war. His successor, Francis I., was a prince whose 
education, like that of Charles VIII., had been based 
upon the reading of the romances of chivalry ; and he, 
too, soon aspired to carry out fiction into fact. With 
greater prudence, nevertheless, than Charles had shown 
in undertaking his Italian expedition, Francis raised a 
brilliant and powerful army, and set out for Milan. 
Bayard, who had been recently raised to the post of 
Lieutenant- General of his native province of Dauphin^, 
hastened to join in the campaign, and occupied a dis- 
tmguished place near the person of the King. Crossing 
the Alps by a new and difficult road, so as to avoid 
attack from the Swiss troops of the young Duke of 
Milan, — Maximilian, son of Ludovico Sforza, — the 
French descended into the Stura valley on the Italian 
side. Prospero Colonna, the Milanese general, was then 
quartered at the fortress of Carmagnola, and showed his 
contempt of the French by neglecting to defend his resi- 
dence. Bayard and some other captains, hearing of this 
imprudence, proposed the audacious plan of capturing 
the general in person. After careful preparations they 
stealthily reached Carmagnola, but not finding Colonna 
there, tracked him to Villafranca. The town was taken 
after a short struggle, and the General's house at once 
surrounded. Colonna was sitting at dinner when, to his 
surprise and bitter mortification, Bayard entered with a 



THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 247 

summons to surrender. There was no help for it, and 
Colonna gave up his sword to his courteous captor, 
only exclaiming in a natural emotion of self-reproach : 
'■' Would God I had met you in a fair field, albeit I had 
perished there ! " Milan, however, was not to be cap- 
tured so easily as its general, and an unmense army of 
SavIss disputed the passage of the French at Marignano, 
in the neighborhood of the city. On the 13th Septem- 
ber, 1515, the armies met, and the encounter lasted for 
two days. It was a fearful contest. The Swiss were 
animated alike with personal hatred of a body of German 
troops, which were conspicuous in the French army, and 
with a greedy desire for the spoil which had been prom- 
ised by the Italian leaders. The French were elated by 
recent success, inflamed with hope of conquest, and 
enraged at the failure of an attempt to buy over their 
mercenary opponents. The mountaineers advanced in a 
close band, armed with enormous pikes and two-handed 
swords. The French cavalry for a long time failed in 
making any impression on this dense mass, until, after 
repeated charges, an onset of the young King and his 
men-at-arms at last destroyed its compactness. Bayard 
was again the hero of the day. His horse was killed 
under him, and he mounted another. In the charge he 
let his bridle drop, and the animal thus unrestrained, 
borne away by its own excitement, carried him into the 
Swiss ranks, where it stumbled and fell. Bayard leaped 
from the saddle, threw away his helmet, and crept back 
by a ditch into the French lines. He was at once known 
by his friends, obtained a third horse and armor, and was 
again in his place. On the second day the Swiss gradu- 



248 THE CHEVALIER BAYAED. 

ally gave way, and, though at tremendous sacrifice, the 
French were victorious. "A war of giants," was the 
characteristic expression which one of the French gen- 
erals, who had witnessed a score of battles, applied to 
this terrific conflict. Bayard, satisfied with having done 
his duty, thought nothing of personal reward, and it was 
to his extreme surprise that, after the battle was over, he 
received an honor from Francis I., the most ennobling to 
both giver and taker that could have been possibly de- 
vised. This was no less than an entreaty that Bayard 
would dub him a knight. After a slight remonstrance 
the good Knight yielded, and the King knelt to liis sub- 
ject. Bayard praying, as he struck his shoulder with the 
sword, that the new knight might never turn his back 
upon an enemy. Then, with the generous courtesy of 
his nature, the warrior dispossessed himself of all appear- 
ance of vainglory by turning to his sword, and saying : 
" Thou art fortunate, my trusty sword, to-day, in being 
chosen to confer knighthood on so great a king ; .thou 
shalt henceforth be kept as a sacred treasure, and never 
be unsheathed save against the infidels ! " 

Milan was taken, and the dukedom of Maximilian 
Sforza compensated for by money; but possession was 
not long kept. A quarrel broke out in 1522 with 
Charles V., the young Emperor of Germany, who had 
been elected to that dignity in spite of the intrigues of 
Francis, who coveted it for himself. This young mon- 
arch, who was likewise King of Spain, Naples, and 
Sicily, resumed that authority over Italy which had been 
exercised by the earlier German Emperors. He agreed 
with Pope Leo X. to set up one of the Sforza family as 
Duke of Mian, and di-ive out the French. 



THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 249 

War was declared between France and Germany ; and 
Bayard was intrusted with the defence of Mezieres, a 
frontier fortress on the Meuse, where an invading force 
had made its appearance. " No place is weak which is 
defended by brave men," said the good Knight, when 
told that the place was too weak to resist. He sum- 
moned his tried friends, and at the sound of his name a 
legion flocked to his side. Ordering all the inhabitants 
who could not work to withdraw into the town. Bayard 
bound the authorities by an oath not to surrender. " We 
will eat our horses and boots, if provisions fail," was his 
cahn assurance to his garrison. The place was invested 
on two sides by the Emperor's army, amounting to 35,000 
men; while Bayard's band numbered but 1,000. Relying 
on the constancy of his men for success, he not only suf- 
fered but assisted the escape of deserters. " We shall be 
stronger without them," was all he cared to say. To the 
summons of the enemy to surrender he returned a defiant 
retort, and steadily gave back fire for fire. At last, how- 
ever, finding his position precarious, he resorted to a 
stratagem for getting rid of the blockade ; and accord- 
ingly, by means of a letter passed into the Imperial camp, 
put one of the generals on a false scent, and stimulated 
the jealousy of a rival commander. Confusion so much 
prevailed in the besieging army, that the siege was raised, 
and Bayard received as a reward from the delighted 
Francis the badge of the Order of Pliilip Augustus, and 
the princely privilege of commanding a hundred men-at- 
arms. 

But the good Knight was not destined to win many 
more such trophies. He had yet to earn one, — the best 
11* 



250 THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 

of all, in his own idea, — a glorious death. The scene 
of warfare was transferred to Italy, where the Constable 
Due de Bourbon, once the most illustrious noble of 
France, but expelled for alleged treason from his coun- 
try, was traitorously commanding the Imperial army. 
The French were led by the Admiral Bonnivet, an un- 
skilful general, and a personal enemy of Bayard, who 
also held a high post. The Emperor's attempt on Milan 
had been successful, and the French were now seeking 
to recover their loss. After failing in an attack on the 
city, Bonnivet withdrew towards the Alps, in the neigh- 
borhood of the river Ticino. During the retreat he 
endeavored to cut off the supplies which were being con- 
tinually sent in from the provinces to Milan, and accord- 
ingly despatched Bayard to the village of Rebec, to 
intercept any food or money which might be sent from 
thence. Hebec was wholly unprovided with shelter, and 
close to the camp of the enemy ; nevertheless Bayard 
would not refuse the enterprise. He asked for a large 
body of troops, but this Bonnivet denied him, and with 
but 200 horse and 2,000 foot Bayard set out. Arrived 
at Rebec, and seeing his danger, he sent for reinforce- 
ments, which never arrived. For several days he kept 
to his post, never doffing his heavy armor, and scarcely 
sleeping, until at last reduced from illness. During one 
of his intervals of rest the enemy came upon him, — hun- 
dreds of soldiers crying out eagerly for the chance of 
capturing such a noble prize. Springing from his bed 
of sickness. Bayard seized a weapon, and followed by a 
few men, repulsed the attack for a time ; but at last, find- 
ing defence useless, ordered a retreat. It was successfully 



THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 251 

accomplished, and he reached the French head-quarters, 
where he reproached Bonnivet for his neglect in sending 
reinforcements, a neglect which is considered to have 
been designed treachery. A series of mistakes on the 
part of Bonnivet obliged him to withdraw from Biagrasso, 
his last fortress, and move homewards. Leaving Novara, 
the French reached Romagnano, a hamlet on the river 
Sesia. The enemy pursued, and met them there. The 
good Knight and his men-at-arms performed a subordi- 
nate part in the battle which ensued, until Bonnivet's arm 
was broken, when the command devolved upon Bayard. 
He had just assumed it, and made his first charge, when 
a stone shot from a hacquebouse struck upon his spine, 
and broke it. He fell from his saddle, with the words, 
" Jesus ! my God ! I am killed ! " Then raising his cross- 
shaped sword-hilt, he kissed it reverently and prayed. As 
he was borne off by his soldiers, he begged them to stop, 
and place him against a tree, that he might face the foe 
in death. The battle ceased, for the French were power- 
less from grief, and the enemy was too generous to follow 
up the success. All men knew and honored the good 
Knight. The Marquis of Pescara, one of the Imperialist 
commanders, came up to Bayard, whose hand he kissed, 
and uttered with earnestness his deep sorrow at the sight. 
" May God be my help ! " he cried : " I would rather 
have given half of what I am worth than that this should 
have been." And after Pescara came up Bourbon, the 
traitor, to express his pity also ; but the loyal Knight 
would not accept it. " I thank you," said he ; " but I 
need it not. I die a true man to my king and country. 
Keep your pity for yourself, who are armed against your 



252 THE CHEVALIEE BAYARD. 

fealtj, your king, and your nation." Though tended with 
the kindest courtesy by Pescara, who had a tent pitched 
on the field for him, Bayard sank rapidly, and, after a 
space of agony, once more uttered his old battle-shout, 
" God and my country ! " and then closed his lips forever. 
The body was embalmed, and carried back to Dauphine 
with the most solemn rites, — the Duke of Savoy order- 
ing royal honors to be paid to it as the procession passed 
through his territories, and peers and peasants coming 
out to meet it. The warrior's remains were buried at 
Grenoble, where a tomb has since been erected over 
them. 

Bayard may stand as the last great example of a 
mediasval hero, — the best representative of the feudal 
chivalry, which died out with him. The next age wit- 
nessed the growth of popular constitutions, and a re- 
formed Church, which the increasing intelligence of the 
world demanded. He exemplifies, however, the value 
and beauty which the older forms of government and 
religion possessed, during periods when obedience to a 
wise and able king, and a holy and well-ordered Church, 
was the only safeguard against anarchy, barbarism, and 
licentiousness. Such is his interest for us moderns, when 
we view him as the type of an epoch. Regarded as a 
man simply, what need is there to praise him ? In the 
virtues of true manliness — sincerity, courage, firmness — 
can we find his equal? As, to those who lived in his 
own day, the star of his glory was thrown out into 
brighter lustre by the dark clouds of disaster amid 
which it always shone ; so to us who read of him, his 
golden fame gleams clearer amidst the gloomy records of 



THE CHEVALIER BAYARD. 253 

perfidy and cruelty with which the history of his age is 
overshadowed. Centuries have crumbled into dust his 
body of clay, and will crumble his marble tomb ; but 
while the world lasts, the name of Bayard, embalmed 
with the rich perfume of his brave deeds, and enshrined 
in the reverent love of his countrymen, will immortahze 
him as " The good blight without fear and without re- 
proach." 



THE REFORMATION. 

The spiritual power of tlie Church of Rome waned 
when its moral corruption reached its height. A suc- 
cession of profligate, faithless, and cruel Popes during 
the fifteenth century, destroyed popular belief in their 
infaUibihty ; and the prevalence of vice among the 
priesthood and monastic orders rendered their teachings 
practically worthless. The name of a monk or a nun 
was a byword, and of the former it was said, that he 
« did what the Devil was ashamed to think." Christian- 
ity was no longer a system of faith or a check on the 
passions, but an engine of spiritual tyranny, supporting a 
large ecclesiastical government at the expense of the 
laity, which was cheated with hollow services, performed 
by ignorant clerks, with tawdry ceremonies and sham 
miracles. The sale of indulgences for crime, instituted 
by the later Popes, crowned the list of abominations. 
These documents actually encouraged immorahty, by fix- 
ing its price at so much a sin, and granting absolution on 
payment of the sum. These manifold and overwhelm- 
ing abuses did not, as we have seen, pass without remon- 
strance at various periods. Abelard, and Arnold of 
Brescia, had eloquently declaimed against them in uni- 



MARTIN LUTHER. 255 

versities and popular assemblies. The peasants of Pro- 
vence and the Pays du Vaud had attempted a practical 
reform. Huss and Jerome of Prague, in Bohemia, and 
Wicliffe in England, had manfully protested with the 
same object. But all these symptoms of a revolutionary 
spirit had been ruthlessly crushed. The Inquisition, 
established by Pope Innocent III. to chastise heresy, 
fulfilled its design by means of the rack, the gibbet, and 
the stake. Thousands of earnest and devout men and 
women, who dared to worship God according to the dic- 
tates of their reason and conscience, and to rebel against 
the yoke of his assumed vicegerent, paid the price of 
liberty with life. But this violent oppression proved fa- 
tal to itself. A secret abhorrence of the system which 
upheld its power by such practices, doubts of its claim to 
divine authority, and contempt of its professors, spread 
gradually but surely in the mind of Germany, and other 
parts of Europe. The circulation of ancient literature, 
and the intellectual enlightenment to which it gave rise, 
had its due effect on the liigher classes ; and the inven- 
tion of printing in the early part of the fifteenth century 
contributed to diffuse liberal ideas amongst all grades of 
society. The translation of the Bible, moreover, enabled 
the laity to see how vast was the difference between the 
teachings of Christ and those of the Church. In short, 
a reaction against the dominant form of religion had 
commenced thi'oughout Europe before the opening of the 
sixteenth century. There was yet needed a man of clear 
head, true heart, and active sympathies, to unite the 
scattered elements of doubt and indignation into a settled 
form of protest ; one eloquent breath to kindle the sparks 



256 MAEim LUTHER. 

of truth into a flame, that should refine the golden faith 
of Christ from the impure alloy of tyranny, falsehood, 
and superstition. Such a man was Martin Luther. 

He was born in 1483, at Eisleben, in Saxony, his 
father being a miner in humble circumstances, but suf- 
ficiently prosperous to allow of Martin's entering the 
University of Erfurt, where he studied law and theology. 
In 1505, when walking with a friend, a flash of hghtning 
struck the latter dead. A hasty impulse of thankfuhiess 
for his escape induced Luther to take monastic vows, and 
he accordingly assumed the habit of the Augustines, a 
branch of the Franciscans, and of good repute for virtue 
and learning, as compared with other orders. He visited 
Eome in 1509 on a mission from this body, and there 
imbibed his first disgust at the stagnant corruption which 
rotted away the very life of the Church at that period. 
JuUus n. was then Pope, — a conqueror who governed 
by fear, not love. The priests were infidels and repro- 
bates, rather than ministers of rehgion and moraUty ; and 
there, at the fountain-head of faith, could be tasted noth- 
ing but polluted waters. The shrewd and simple-hearted 
monk observed, lamented, and pondered. He returned 
to Germany, and was soon after appointed Doctor and 
Theological Professor of the new University of Witten- 
berg, founded by the Elector of Saxony, Frederick "the 
Wise," an able, just, and powerful prince. This Univer- 
sity was known as the seat of the Humanists, or professors 
of hberal learning, as opposed to the dry and lifeless 
teaching of the Schoolmen, who had for centuries ab- 
sorbed the work of education. Luther, without actively 
joining the new party, was influenced by its views, and 



aiARTIN LUTHER. 257 

his work on German TJieology, published in 1516, was 
directed against the Scholastic tenets. His practical bent 
was called into play in 1517. Leo X., now Pope, resort- 
ed, as a means of fiUing his treasury, to an increased sale 
of indulgences, which he intrusted to the Dominicans, 
who traversed Europe for this purpose. One of their 
leading monks, named Tetzel, carried this detestable 
traffic to an unwonted pitch, inventing horrible and un- 
heard-of crimes, and publicly declaring in the churches 
and assembhes to which he came, that all these monstros- 
ities would be at once expiated on payment of a due sum 
to the Pope. Luther was filled with indignation at this 
degrading exhibition, and endeavored, though in vain, to 
stop it. by appealing to the bishop of the diocese, and 
then to the Archbishop of Mentz. Failing to obtain a 
reply, he, on the 31st of October, 1517, boldly posted up 
on the church at Wittenberg Castle ninety-five theses, 
or propositions, against the indulgences, and which he 
offered to defend. Li these articles he denied the right 
of the Pope to deal with God's decrees, and asserted that 
sins could be remitted by repentance only, not for money. 
He was applauded by the wisest and best scholars of his 
day, but vehemently attacked by Tetzel, and Eck, a 
famous controversialist. Happily, the state of the politi- 
cal world favored his daring. The Emperor Maximilian 
was not on good terms with the Pope, and refused to 
surrender Luther when called upon. On the Emperor's 
death in 1519, the Elector of Saxony, Luther's stanch 
patron, was made regent of the Empire, and during his 
term of office iaithfuUy supported the new views. 
Luther was burned in e^^j at Rome, and every en- 

Q 



258 MARTIN LUTHER. 

deavor was made to procure his execution ; but, cheered 
by the voice of Germany, he held on his way to a yet 
higher point of boldness. He published a work on the 
Babylonian Captwity of the Church, which denounced in 
the clearest terms the idolatry of the mass and Papal su- 
premacy ; and busied himself in the practical reformation 
of the German Church, wherever his influence extended. 
The Latin service was given up, and prayers and psalm- 
ody conducted in the native language of the people. The 
Pope was now roused by the terrified doctors of Rome to 
publish a formal condemnation of Luther's teachings. 
The bull was brought to Germany by Cardinal Alcan- 
der ; but his life was in danger from the anger of the 
people, who vehemently supported the Reformation. The 
students of Erfurt tore the copies of the bull from the 
booksellers' shops, and threw them into the river. 
Luther himself at once published a pamphlet against 
" the execrable bull of Antichrist," and finally crowned 
his resistance by a signal act of defiance. 

On the 10th of December, 1520, a vast concourse met 
at the eastern gate of the city of Wittenberg. Grave 
Professors of the University in their robes of office ; 
young students, sober, enthusiastic, and careless ; burgh- 
ers of the city, and a motley crowd of both sexes, and 
all ranks and ages, flocked to a cross which was erected 
just without the walls, and beside which a huge pile of 
wood had been laid and lighted. The homely, burly 
figure of a man habited in the plain garb of an Augustine 
monk, stood alone by the pyre. His features were some- 
what coarse, but worn by care and study ; and an expres- 
sion of intense earnestness gave them a beauty not their 



MARTIN LUTHER. 259 

own. In a clear and penetrating voice he addressed the 
crowd, stating the occasion of the meeting to be the ne- 
cessity of declaring in the name of God the freedom of 
religious conviction which the Papacy had endeavored to 
inthrall. He then took from the hands of an attendant a 
parchment document. The speaker held it up, and an- 
nounced it as the last bull of Pope Leo X. against him- 
self, Martin Luther. Amid the shouts of the multitude 
he threw it into the burning pile, where it was consumed 
to ashes. He then produced a massive volume, which he 
announced as the Decretals, or collection of Papal de- 
crees, embodying the principles of the canon law of the 
Church of Pome. " Thou hast tormented the Lord's holy 
one," cried Luther, as he cast the book into the flames ; 
" may the everlasting fire torment and consume thee ! " 
Other volumes of theology and law shared the same fate. 
When the great assembly dispersed, all felt that the rup- 
ture between the Church and the Reformers was decisive. 
In this daring conduct Luther was countenanced by the 
Elector of Saxony, who blamed the Pope and Cardinal 
Alcander for their presumption in interfering with the 
progress of reforms in the German Church. 

In 1521 Charles, grandson of the late Emperor Maxi- 
milian, heir to the possessions of the Hapsburgs, and, on 
the death of Ferdinand of Spain, the acknowledged king 
of that country and tlie Two Sicilies, was elected Em- 
peror of Germany. As a devout Catholic, he was op- 
posed to the Reformation ; but desiring to keep on good 
terms with the powerful Elector, moved cautiously in 
attempting to suppress it. Luther, however, was cited to 
appear at a great Diet held at Worms, in April, 1521. 



260 MAETIN LUTHER. 

The monk did not hesitate to comply with the demand, 
though urged by his friends to refuse. " I will go," said 
he, " though there should be as many devils as tiles on 
the house-roofs." He was triumphantly greeted by the 
people as he passed from Wittenberg to Worms, and on 
his arrival was accompanied to his lodgings by 2,000 per- 
sons. At the council he maintained a calm and majestic 
bearing. Summoned to retract his opinions, and the 
charges he had brought against the Church, he steadily 
refused, to the irritation of the Emperor, and the great 
joy of many of the leading princes and nobles. Four 
hundred of th« latter, it was said, were pledged to defend 
him. The safe-conduct which he had received from the 
Emperor before starting on the journey was respected ; 
and though Luther was put under the ban of the Empire, 
he was not touched, and departed on his way home. On 
the road a body of horse seized him, and conveyed him 
in secret to the Castle of the Wartburg. This was a 
stratagem of the Elector of Saxony to shield him from 
any possible violence of his enemies ; and Luther, who 
believed himself a prisoner, found to his delight that he 
was under the protection of his patron. From tliis re- 
treat the Reformer, and his friend Melancthon and others, 
conducted the progress of the Reformation. Its principles 
were explained to the people in simple language, and the 
Bible was translated into German. The imprudence of 
a party of Reformers, who, by their rejection of infant 
baptism, acquired the name of Anabaptists, called Luther 
to Wittenberg. Under their leaders, Thomas Munzer and 
Carlstadt, they had destroyed various images and orna- 
ments in the churches, — an act wholly opposed to the 



MARTIN LUTHER. 261 

views of Luther, who loved and respected art. He ven- 
tured forth from the castle, and preached for eight days in 
the city, tinally succeeding in quelling the tumult. Mean- 
time the Reformation was extensively spreading in Sv/it- 
zerland, under Zwingli and other teachers. In various 
parts of Germany, esj^ecially in the cities of Nuremberg, 
Breslau, and Dantzic, the priests were expelled, and Lu- 
theran teachers — who were married men — substituted. 

A dangerous reaction arose, in 1522, against the new 
theology, in consequence of the support which it seemed 
to give to political disturbance. The peasantry of Sua- 
bia and Thuringia, oppressed by the nobles, and hearing 
the welcome sounds of religious liberty on all sides, ap- 
plied the same principles to j)ohtics, and rose in revolt. 
The acts of violence committed in this rebellion were laid 
at the door of Luther, and he felt called upon to disavow 
the whole movement. He endeavored to act as peace- 
maker between the conflicting parties ; but Munzer and 
Carlstadt, who led the peasants, would hear of no terms, 
abused hun as a traitor to the cause, and roused their 
followers to the most atrocious deeds of cruelty. Seventy 
nobles who were taken prisoners were compelled to run 
between two ranks of spears, which pierced them as they 
passed. Luther no longer hesitated to throw all his 
influence in the opposite scale, and aided the nobles by 
wilting and preaching. After a terrible war, in which _ 
thousands perished, the insurrection was put down in 
1525. 

Luther was now involved in a controversial strife with 
some of the leading Swiss and Rhenish reformers ; and, 
still more seriously, with the eminent Erasmus of Rotter- 



262 MAKTIN LUTHEE. 

dam, the king of literature in his time, who, though 
adopting the principles of the Reformation in part, lacked 
the earnestness of the great German, and exhausted his 
fine genius in subtle discussions on doctrine. The contro- 
versy was conducted with heat and bitterness, and much 
injured the general cause of truth, by dividing the Prot- 
estant army into sects and parties. 

In 1525 Luther completed his defiance of ecclesiastical 
rules, by cancelling his monastic vows, and marrying a 
fugitive nun, named Catherine von Bora, a woman of 
great beauty, who bore him several children. He was 
extremely poor, in spite of his fame as a writer ; and 
though willing to earn his bread, even by handicraft, was 
fain to accept the bounty of his friend, the Elector John, 
who had succeeded his father, Frederick, in the govern- 
ment of Saxony. The Lutheran Church was now firmly 
estabhshed in Saxony, Prussia, and other parts of Ger- 
many ; and the new King of Sweden, Gustavus Vasa, 
adopted it as that of the State. In England, Henry 
YIIL, after acquiring the name of Defender of the Faith, 
by attacking Luther, was now a zealous Reformer. 
George, Duke of Saxon Thuringia, and the Elector of 
Brandenburg, were the chief opponents of the cause in 
Germany. 

With the doctrin-es of the Reformation, as opposed to 
those of the Catholic Church, we are not here concerned, 
further than to state that they professed to be based ex- 
clusively upon the Scriptures, — the right to interpret 
which was declared to be vested in private judgment, and 
not the voice of the Church, as uttered by the Fathers, 
or in General Councils. Many of the corruptions which 



MARTIN LUTHER. 263 

had gathered over the simple teaching of Christ and His 
Apostles — such as the doctrines of transubstantiation, 
meritorious righteousness, the worship of the Virgin and 
Saints, the infallibility of the Pope, the obligation of con- 
fessing sins to a priest, the exclusion of the laity from the 
cup at the communion, praying for the dead, purgatory 
and indulgences, the celibacy of the clergy, and the 
inviolable character of monastic vows — were more or 
less repudiated and condemned by Luther and the lead- 
ing Reformers. Differences of opinion between them, 
toucliing one or more of these subjects, led to the forma- 
tion of the various parties into which Protestants are 
now divided. 

In Saxony, where Luther himself was authorized to 
settle the constitution of the Church, he fully developed 
his own views. Monasteries were abolished, and their 
wealth was applied by the State to education and other 
purposes. The monks and nuns were enjoined to marry, 
and adopt a profession. The election of bishops was 
placed in the hands of the Staie, and pastors were 
appointed over each commune. The churches were 
cleared of superstitious ornaments, the service performed 
in the native tongue, and the schools enlarged. 

It was not long before Protestantism became an im- 
portant pohtical engine. Germany was threatened by a 
terrible invasion of the Turks, under their Sultan, Sulei- 
man IL, who, after capturing Rhodes, and disposing of 
the Hungarian throne, marched into Austria in 1529, 
and besieged Vienna. After vainly attempting to carry 
it by storm, the Turks were repulsed, but ravaged 
the country, and carried off thousands into captivity. 



264 MAETIN LUTHEE. 

Charles V., who saw the necessity of combining all Ger- 
many against the foe, was compelled to be moderate in 
dealing with the Reformation. A Diet, however, was 
held at Augsbm^g, in June, 1530, at which the progress 
of Protestantism was a principal subject of consideration. 
Luther, being under the ban of the Empire, could not 
attend ; but Melancthon was present, and drew up a con- 
fession of faith, which, under the name of the Augsburg 
Confession, has ever since been taken as the Protestant 
charter. The Diet closed by an edict of the Emperor, 
calling on the Reformers to retract ; but no attempt was 
made to enforce it, as the Protestants threatened to with- 
hold their assistance in repelling the Turkish invasion. 
An alliance of the leading German princes who sup- 
ported the Reformation was made, in 1531, against the 
Emperor, but in the next year he yielded. Suleiman II. 
was on his way to Vienna with a large army, raised, as 
he avowed, to subdue the Empire. Charles, in alarm, 
signed a treaty at Nuremberg with the Protestants, 
whereby he agi'eed to acknowledge the Reformation for 
the present as an accomplished fact, subject to a future 
settlement of the question. On this concession, the princes 
gave him their support ; and Suleiman, who had counted 
on then* withholding it, on hearing the news, suddenly 
retreated. 

Luther, in his desire of reforming the Church, had no 
original intention of separating liimself from the Catholic 
body. This act, which cost him many a hard struggle 
and anxious doubt, was forced upon him by the obsti- 
nacy of the Pope and Cardinals in refusing reform. He 
gladly joined, however, in the attempt made by Melanc- 



MARTIN LUTHER. 265 

thon, soon after the Diet of Augsburg, to make use of the 
Pope as an agent of general reformation ; but it failed, as 
might have been expected. Both Cathohcs and Protes- 
tants united in repudiating the monstrous excesses, which, 
under the sanction of Protestantism, the Anabaptists of 
Munster committed in 1534. A fanatical enthusiast 
named John of Leyden, a tailor by trade, excited his 
pai'ty by his assertions that revelations had been commu- 
nicated to him from Heaven. He drove out the town 
council and leading citizens, proclaimed himself king, and 
declared a community of wives and goods. His follies 
and crimes were terminated by the success of the Bishop 
of Munster in his assault on the city, who put John and 
other chiefs of the Anabaptists to a cruel death in 1536. 

The latter years of Luther's life were saddened by 
the conviction, which was forced on him, that the great 
work of spu'itual reformation which he had set in motion 
was rapidly becoming a poHtical tool in the hands of the 
warlike and intriguing princes who had adopted its prin- 
ciples. He had, however, the gratification of seeing the 
spread of Protestantism in parts of Germany where it 
had previously been rejected. The Emperor, Charles V., 
was stiU its strenuous opponent ; and the efforts of the 
Papacy were unceasing to revile its doctrines and assail 
its professors. In 1545, the Council of Trent (the de- 
crees of which are to the Cathohc what the Confession 
of Augsburg is to the Protestant) was opened by the 
Pope ; and the Emperor summoned a Diet at Ratisbon 
for the next year, with the view of enforcing by tem- 
poral power what the spiritual could not effect alone. 
Luther looked to the event of these proceedings with much 
12 



266 MAETIN LUTHER. 

interest, but did not live to behold it. Having journeyed 
from Wittenberg to Eisleben, .on a mission of reconcilia- 
tion between two Protestant princes and brothers, the 
Counts von Mansfeld, he was seized with a return of a 
long-existing malady, and died after a few weeks' illness, 
in Febmary, 1546, at the age of sixty-thi-ee. He was 
buried at Wittenberg with the greatest honor. 

No representative man was ever more suited to his 
age than Martia Luther. With a spirit devout, pure, 
and ardent ; a mind clear, acute, and practical, yet not 
wanting in imaginative power ; with generous emotions, 
and a vigorous, active frame of body, he was qualified to 
attract the sympathies of the really earnest members of 
the old faith, to wrestle successfully with its subtle theo- 
logians, please the taste of the higher and more refined 
classes, and win the hearts of the middle and lower 
classes of Germany. Whatever errors in judgment may 
be attributed to him at certain periods of his life, — and 
although he may have occasionally overstepped the 
bounds of charity, good-temper, and courtesy in his dis- 
cussions, — alike for wisdom and true-hearted zeal he oc- 
cupies a rank among religious reformers, to which we 
think no other can presume to attain. To him we owe 
the boldest expression of that conviction, without which 
all progress m religious or political freedom is impossi- 
ble, — the right of private judgment. To him we owe 
the best employment and widest diffusion of those intel- 
lectual weapons which the Church of Rome had so" long 
retained in her own custody, and by the exclusive use of 
which she alone upheld her despotic power. 



immh Cortes. 



THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 

We have seen Spain at the close of the fifteenth cen- 
tury, entering, through the ability of Columbus, upon a 
course of scientific and commercial enterprise. It re- 
mains to see how the spirit which he evoked was turned 
aside, by the love of conquest and of gain, into a path, 
wliich, if it led to the wealth and fame of one country, 
was productive of death and misery to myriads of the 
human race. 

Following in the direction which Columbus had en- 
deavored to penetrate, the Spaniards, before the year 
1518, had surveyed the eastern shores of both North and 
South America, coasting from the Bay of Honduras, by 
the Isthmus of Darien, down to the Rio de la Plata. 
But as yet the lands lying round and beyond the Mexi- 
can Gulf were unexplored. Here lay the vast Mexican 
Emph-e, which had existed for nearly two centuries, un- 
known to Eui'ope, in a flourishing state of comparative 
civilization. It extended from the Atlantic to the Pa- 
cific, over a large and varied territory, rich in natural 
beauty, vegetation, and minerals. The government was 
an absolute but elective monarchy ; the administration of 
justice was strict and equal. The military discipHne of 



268 HERNANDO COETES. 

the Aztecs, or Mexicans, was excellent, though then- 
tactics were rude. In science and art they had made 
great advances, possessing an astronomical scheme supe- 
rior in some respects to that of the Egyptians, and a sys- 
tem of picture-writing only inferior to theirs. In social 
refinement the Aztecs had hkewise attained remarkable 
progress, and their manners and customs evinced a care- 
ful regard to moral restraints. Notwithstanding all this 
civiHzation, the national creed was a degrading supersti- 
tion, which, if capable of explanation by the more en- 
lightened priests, was to the people only a yoke of cruel 
slavery. Blinded by fanaticism, they became callous to 
the horrors of human sacrifice, and even cannibahsm, 
which formed part of their devotional rites. Such was 
the country and such the people of Mexico at the com- 
mencement of the sixteenth century. The condition of 
the State, however, was not then so prosperous as pre- 
viously ; the reigning monarch, Montezuma, though emi- 
nent for political wisdom and warhke prowess, having 
alienated the aJQPection of his subjects by his profuse ex- 
penditure, which demanded heavy taxation to support it. 
The coast of Yucatan was first discovered in 1517, by 
a Spanish colonist from Cuba, named Cordova, who was 
driven from his course to the Bahamas by strong winds. 
He was astonished at the civilized character of the na- 
tives, but was unable to make any exploration of the 
country on account of their hostile disposition. On re- 
turning to Cuba, he represented the discovery to the 
Governor, Velasquez, who sent out an expedition under 
his nephew, Grijalva, in May, 1518. He succeeded in 
establishing a friendly intercourse with the natives, and 



HERNANDO CORTES. 269 

obtaining from them, in exchange for his trinkets, some 
superb jewels and golden ornaments. These, which he 
sent back to Cuba in a vessel which preceded his arrival, 
excited the avarice of Velasquez, who, without waiting 
for his nephew's return, despatched an expedition to con- 
quer so valuable a country. Ho chose for its leader a 
man named Hernando Cortes. 

The future conqueror of Mexico was born in 1485, of 
good family, resident in the province of Estremadura. 
Rehnquishing the law, to which he was designed, for an 
adventurous hfe, he quitted Spain in 1504, and settled 
in Hayti, where he displayed much military skill in sup- 
pressing the revolts which broke out at times among the 
injured islanders. He acquired at the same time a dis- 
reputable character for profligacy. In 1511 he jomed 
the expedition with which Velasquez undertook to con- 
quer Cuba ; and after the subjection of that island, settled 
there, — marrying happily, and realizing by his agricul- 
tural industry a moderate fortune. Velasquez, perceiving 
his ability, determined to intrust him with the command 
of the new expedition to Mexico, under the title of Cap- 
tain-general. The responsibility of the post effected a 
great change in the character of Cortes, who from gay 
became grave, and from thoughtless, reflective. He 
eagerly procured a troop of 300 men and six vessels. 
His instructions from Velasquez were to aim at the con- 
version of the natives, and induce them to enter into 
commercial relations with the Spaniards, — carefully to 
survey the coast, and ascertain the nature of the country 
and the government. Cortes, in spite of his early excess- 
es, was a sincere bigot, and aspired to show his zeal for 



270 HERNANDO CORTES. 

the Catholic faith by the utmost efforts for its extension. 
He may be reasonably credited, moreover, with an am- 
bition not less ardent, but more selfish. Suspicions of 
his character were excited in the Governor's mind before 
the fleet sailed, and he determined to revoke his trust. 
But being apprised of the intention, Cortes on the same 
day made ready to start, and at midnight set sail. Though 
pursued by messengers of Velasquez, he managed to 
evade them. He obtained ample stores of ammunition 
and food at various ports, and increased his force to the 
number of eleven vessels and 500 soldiers, with a crew 
of 100 mariners, and a body of Indians amounting to 
200. Small as this force was for the conquest of so vast 
a country as Mexico, its members were prevented from 
feeling alarm by their ignorance of the difficulty, and 
animated by an enthusiasm able to surmount it when 
known. On the 18th of February, 1519, the fleet set 
sail for Yucatan. 

A storm drove Cortes to take shelter in the island of 
Cozumel, where he treated the natives kindly, and, as 
usual, bartered his trifles for their gold. He fulfilled his 
aim of extending Christianity by means of the teachings 
of two missionaries, who accompanied the expedition, and 
by his own plan of destroying the idols, and thus demon- 
strating their powerlessness. He here obtained a valu- 
able assistant in the person of a Spanish captive, who 
knew the Yucatan language, and joined him as inter- 
preter. After a brief voyage, the squadi'on anchored off 
the Rio de Tabasco, where Cortes attempted to land, but 
was received with hostile gestures on the part of the 
natives. Through his interpreter he proclaimed his pa- 



HEKNANDO CORTES. 271 

cific intentions, but a shower of arrows was tlie reply ; 
and the river banks were thronged with armed warriors, 
prepared to dispute the passage. Dividing his troops 
into two detachments, he ordered an officer, named Avila, 
who commanded one, to land at a point whence a road led 
to the town of Tabasco; while the other detachment, 
under his own command, advanced in the same direction 
from the opposite point. The landing was effected with 
great difficulty, owing to the determined resistance of the 
natives. But once on shore, the fire-arms of the Span- 
iards terrified and bewildered their opponents, who fled 
to shelter. Avila had meantime disembarked, and came 
upon the town by surprise. It was soon taken, and 
Cortes fixed his quarters in the chief temple. An im- 
mense force of natives threatening his position, he sent 
forward his infantry and artillery to attack it in the plain 
where it was encamped. He himself skirted the camp 
with his cavalry, so as to assail the rear. Wlien the 
plain was reached, the natives, who were infinitely supe- 
rior in numbers, pressed hard upon the invaders ; but 
were met by a deadly fire, which thinned their dense 
ranks. The fight had lasted an hour, and they were still 
courageously sustaining their ground, when Cortes and 
his cavalry suddenly attacked their rear. Unaccustomed 
to the sight of horse-soldiers, the natives fled m terror, 
and the battle was won after a fearful carnage, — in 
which the defeated might be counted by thousands to the 
conquerors' units. 

Cortes, instead of pursuing his conquest further, de- 
clared, thi'ough the interpreter, that all who yielded to 
his arms should be freed from molestation, but that re- 



272 HEKNANDO COETES. 

sistance would be punished by death. The chieftains, or 
caciques, in the vicinity, at once made their submission, 
presenting the conqueror with gifts of slaves, &c. Among 
the female slaves was a girl whom Cortes named Marina, 
and soon adopted as his mistress. She proved of great 
assistance to the Spaniards from her knowledge of the 
language of Mexico, of which country she was a native. 

After establishing Christianity in Yucatan, Cortes re- 
turned to his vessels, and setting sail, reached the Mexi- 
can coast in April. After holding intercourse with the 
natives on the coast, who were amicably disposed, he 
landed on the spot where Vera Cruz is now built, and 
encamped on the plain. In fortifying his situation he 
was assisted by the natives, by the order of the Emperor's 
viceroy, Teuhtile. This officer visited the camp next 
day, and was courteously received ; Cortes stating that he 
was sent as an ambassador from the mighty King of 
Spain to the great Emperor of Mexico, with gifts which 
must be delivered to him in person. 

Montezuma had from his viceroy a faithful account, 
by means of picture-writing, of the wonderful advent of 
the fair-skinned strangers, with their cavalry and artil- 
lery, the latter especially having astonished and terrified 
the Mexicans as much as it had done the natives of Yu- 
catan. He was considerably alarmed at the news, in 
consequence of a floating prophecy that a banished de- 
ity, named Quetzacoatl, represented as fair-skinned and 
bearded, was destined to return, and rule over Mexico. 
Splendid presents were sent to Cortes, including vessels 
and ornaments of gold and silver, rolls of cotton cloth, 
and richly embroidered articles of feather-work. The 



HERNANDO CORTES. 273 

ambassadors who earned these at the same time expressed 
their regret that, owing to the difficulties of the journey 
to his capital, and the state of the country, the Emperor 
could not receive the messengers of the King of Spain, 
to whom he, nevertheless, desu-ed them to convey his 
profound respects. Cortes was not dejected at this re- 
fusal, and sent back a courteous reply, that he could not 
return after so long a voyage without having fulfilled his 
mission. He forwarded by the ambassadors a few pres- 
ents, including some Holland shirts and a gilt Florentine 
goblet. In ten days the Mexican ambassadors returned 
with another present of great value, but a decided refusal 
to admit the Spaniards. Cortes on this occasion treated 
the envoys coolly; and one of the Spanish missionaries in- 
formed them that it was their intention to establish Chris- 
tianity in Mexico. The ambassadors at once dropped 
their friendly bearing, and retired during the night. 

Having no intention of complying with Montezuma's 
orders, Cortes looked about for a more favorable situation 
than that in which the army was stationed. He met, 
however, with opposition from some of his soldiers, who 
were anxious to return to Cuba. While he was trying 
to allay the mutiny, a turn was given to the dispute by 
the arrival of some Indians from Totonac, a recently con- 
quered dependency of Mexico, and greatly disaffected. 
The envoys, who desired a visit from the Spaniards, were 
received by Cortes with much honor, and a promise to 
comply with the invitation. The wily Spaniard saw in 
this visit an easy opening to the conquest, which he had 
always kept in view. A spirit of disunion was clearly at 
work in the Empu-e, and his policy was to increase it. 
12* R 



274 HEKNANDO CORTES. 

He first directed liis energies to soothing the discontent 
of his followers. By readily consenting to return to 
Cuba, since it was the wish of the army, he excited a 
strenuous opposition to that course in the well-afFected 
party ; and on the day after the order to set sail was 
given, he was entreated by a majority to withdraw it. 
Yielding, as he made it appear, to the prevalent feeling, 
he then with a show of humility offered to resign his 
office of Captain-general ; but the resignation was re- 
fused with acclamations. A colony was then projected, 
of which he was to be Chief-justice, with the share of 
one fifth of all the produce of conquest or trade. Good 
feeling being thus restored, the fleet coasted down to 
Chiahuitzlan, where was the intended site of the new 
city ; while Cortes marched to Cempoalla, the capital of 
the Totonacs, to pay his promised visit. The Spaniards 
were well received by the cacique ; and after obtaining 
information as to the nature of the Mexican government 
and territory, Cortes promised the Totonacs his aid in 
breaking off the yoke of Montezuma. During the inter- 
view, five Aztec nobles, sent by thatf monarch to receive 
the tax laid upon the Totonacs, entered the town, and 
blaming the cacique for receiving the Spanish strangers, 
demanded as a punishment the surrender of twenty 
youths, of both sexes, for sacrifice. Cortes, accounting 
this an insult, directed the Totonacs to imprison the en- 
voys ; but at night he secretly enabled two of them to 
make their escape, apologizing for the dishonor done 
them by the imprisonment, and promising to release their 
comrades. This promise he fulfilled next day, by re- 
moving the caotives from the custody of the Totonacs 



HERNANDO COETES. 275 

to his own vessels. He then stirred up disafFection to 
the Mexican rule in the neighboring towns, whose citi- 
zens eagerly embraced his cause against Montezuma, and 
took oaths of fealty to the Spanish king. By native aid 
he next carried into execution his design for the new city, 
which rapidly grew in size. 

The conduct of Cortes towards the envoys had its due 
effect on Montezuma, who sent his acknowledgments, to- 
gether with costly presents. Cortes treated the envoys 
hospitably, and returned a message to the Emperor that 
the Spaniards would soon visit him in his capital. At 
the port of his new city, which received the name of 
Villa Rica, Cortes was one day surprised to find a vessel 
with a Spanish cavalier on board, in command of a small 
' troop, who told him that Velasquez had obtained authority 
from Spain to found a colony in the new country. Cortes 
at once decided on securing for himself the result of his 
own labors. He sent off a vessel to Spain with an ac- 
count of the discovery, and a petition from the citizens 
of Villa Rica that the proceedings of Cortes, and his ap- 
pointment as their" general, might be confirmed. With 
the despatches were sent the treasures which he had ac- 
quired from the Mexicans, and the army was prevailed 
upon to surrender its own share also. The vessel was 
pursued by two ships of Velasquez, who received news 
of its departure ; but succeeded in safely reaching the 
port of San Lucar, in Spain. 

A conspiracy of those who wished to return to Cuba 
.broke out in the camp, but Cortes quelled it with much 
firmness, and determined to prevent its recurrence by 
taking the bold step of destroying his fleet, and thus ren- 



276 HEENANDO CORTES. 

dering return impracticable. The pilots were induced to 
declare the vessels unfit for service, and all but one were 
sunk. Loud clamors arose against this act, but Cortes 
was master of the occasion. Calling the army together, 
he reminded them of his own labors in their behalf, and 
how thoroughly he was identified with their own success 
or failure. For himself, he said, he would stay — • let all 
beside depart. The remaining ship was at the ser^nce of 
all who wished to go. The appeal was decisive. None 
accepted the proposal, but a general enthusiasm for their 
General and their cause pervaded the camp, which re- 
sounded with cries of " To Mexico ! " Cortes then pre- 
pared his forces for the march to the capital of Monte- 
zuma. His own men did not exceed 400 foot and 15 
horse, but he was accompanied by upwards of 1,000 In- 
dian soldiers, and porters to carry his artillery and bag- 
gage. Forty hostages from Cempoalla acted as guides 
and interpreters to the expedition. After crossing the 
great Mexican table-land, with its varied scenery of rich 
vegetation and barren plains, the Spaniards reached the 
territory of the Tlascalan Republic. Here they were at- 
tacked by the natives, a warlike race, constantly engaged 
in contests with the Mexicans, with whom they concluded 
tlie Spaniards to be at peace. After one decisive engage- 
ment, in which the Tlascalans were signally defeated, they 
yielded, and formed an alliance with their conquerors. 
On the march from Tlascala, the Spaniards had to pass 
through the Mexican dependency of Cholula. A large 
force of Tlascalan volunteers accompanied the Spaniards, 
but was not allowed to enter the city. The reception was 
at first hospitable, but on the arrival of some messengers 



HEKNANDO COKTES. 277 

from Montezuma, symptoms of hostility appeared. Cortes, 
suspecting a plot, set Marina at work to discover it. Siie 
ascertained, from the wife of one of the caciques, that a 
massacre of the Spaniards, as they quitted the city, was 
to be effected by the Cholulans, with the aid of a Mexican 
force. Cortes lost no time in charging the Aztec ambas- 
sadors with the plot, who denied any knowledge of it. 
He professed to believe them, but kept them in guard, 
and prevented their corresponding with the Cholulans. 
Towards the latter he assumed a friendly tone, and in- 
formed them that he intended leaving the city next day, 
requesting the assistance of a large reinforcement for the 
cai-riage of his guns. On the next morning he had pre- 
pared his army for the struggle, — guai-ding the gates, 
and arranging with his Tlascalan alhes to join him at a 
signal. When the Cholulans made their appearance with 
the reinforcements demanded, Cortes charged them with 
their treachery. In their terror they confessed it, but 
laid the blame on the Mexicans. He replied by a decla- 
ration that their punishment should be in proportion to 
their crime. At his signal, the Tlascalans outside the 
city joined his troops, and a fearful massacre of all the 
Cholulans ensued. Some fled to the cliief temple ; but, 
faihng to obtain help from their gods, .threw themselves 
from its pyramidal summit. As many as 6,000 are said 
to have perished in one day. 

Montezuma, in alann at this terrible vengeance, sent 
at once his ambassadors, laden with presents, to deny any 
share in the plot. Cortes concealed his disbelief and 
anger, and received the embassage with respect. He 
continued his march to the capital, observing on his way 



278 HERNANDO COKTES. 

various evidences of an existing disaffection to the reign- 
ing monarch. The spectacle of the great valley of Mex- 
ico, studded with cities amid its woods and lakes, excited 
the desire of the Spaniards to possess so goodly a land ; 
but such were the signs of civilization, that all save 
Cortes were fearful of the result of their hostile attempt. 
He cheered his troops with his wonted eloquence, and 
succeeded in impressing them with his own persuasion 
of an eventual conquest. He was the more confirmed in 
this belief from the tone adopted by the ambassadors of 
Montezuma at each successive interview. The Em- 
peror's fears at last prevailed, so far as to induce him to 
offer an immense bribe to Cortes, with the promise of an 
annual tribute to the Court of Spain, if he would but 
return home. Cortes declined the offer, which disclosed 
its proposer's weakness ; and Montezuma, concealing his 
terror, sent his nephew with a superb present and cour- 
teous greetings to welcome the strangers to the capital. 
They entered on the 8th of November, 1519, in number 
about 7,000 men, of whom only 400 were Spaniards, 
The Emperor, a tall, slender man, of dignified presence, 
and splendidly attired, was borne in a palanquin to the 
city walls to meet Cortes. The interview was brief, but 
amicable, and the Spaniards were then conducted to 
their appointed quarters. 

The magnificence of the city astonished them. It was 
built at the edge of a vast lake, with which it had numer- 
ous causeways of connection. The buildings were of 
stone, and included some lofty and spacious temples and 
palaces. The chief street extended m a sti'aight hue for 
several miles through the centre of the city. Canals 



HEKNANDO CORTES. 279 

intersected the streets at intervals, and were crossed by 
bridges. The Imperial palace was on the grandest scale, 
— the immense rooms being ceiled with perfumed woods, 
and draped with rich hangings. 

At his first interview with Montezuma, Cortes touched 
but slightly on the professed object of his mission ; but 
at the next, warmly advocated the cause of Christian- 
ity against heathenism, though without producing much 
effect. Montezuma's tone, however, was supphant ; he 
admitted the superiority of the Spanish monarch, and 
promised to accede to all the wishes of his ambassadors. 
Cortes, nevertheless, as though in danger of attack, took 
the precaution of fortifying his quarters by a strong wall, 
which bristled with his guns, and before which walked 
his sentinels. Among the buildings of the city the great 
central market, with its crowds of busy traders, and sur- 
rounded by a court of justice for the punishment of fraud, 
first attracted the notice of the Spaniards. Thence they 
proceeded to the chief temple, having five stories, in 
height about a hundred feet, and resting on a base of 
three hundred feet square. In the mterior was an altar, 
by which stood a huge image of the god of war, with 
three human hearts as a sacrifice before it. Cortes and 
his companions could not conceal their horror and dis- 
gust at the scene, and the former represented to Monte- 
zuma his surprise that so wise a king could worship an 
idol manifestly an image of the Devil. Tlie devout 
Emperor seemed much shocked at this slander on the 
gods. He, however, permitted the Spaniards to convert 
part of their own residence into a Christian chapel. In 
(he process of alteration a hall was discovered in the 



280 HERNANDO CORTES. 

ancient palace which Cortes occupied, full of treasure, 
but carefully sealed up. The sight of this wealth did 
not diminish the desire of the Spaniards to dispossess 
the Emperor of his dominion. 

After a week's sojourn, Cortes became uneasy at his 
position in the capital. He resolved, by one daring meas- 
ure, to put an end to his difficulties. This was nothing 
less than the seizure of the Emperor as a hostage. The 
pretext for tliis act was an insidious attack made upon 
the Spanish garrison at Vera Cruz, two soldiers of which 
had been invited to visit a neighboring cacique, who 
murdered them. In revenging this crime, the garrison 
had been defeated and its commander killed. Some of 
the Indians were taken prisoners, and accused Monte- 
zuma of having instigated the murder. Cortes accord- 
ingly requested an interview with the Emperor, whom, 
after a cordial greeting, he informed of the news just 
received. Montezuma averred his innocence, and prom- 
ised redress ; but Cortes, though professing to believe 
him, declared that he should not feel secure without a 
hostage for the good faith of the Mexicans at large, and 
therefore begged the Emperor to remove his residence to 
the Spanish quarters. In vain did the unfortunate mon- 
arch protest against this outrageous demand. Violence 
was at last threatened, and he was fain to give way. He 
was carefully watched, but allowed apparent liberty for 
some tinle. All endeavors, however, to convert him to 
Christianity proved ineffectual. His dependent condition 
aroused the anger of his nephew, Cacama, who ruled over 
the neighboring state of Texcuco, and a league of tribu- 
tary chiefs against the Spaniards was formed by his 



HERNANDO CORTES. 281 

influence. The plot was discovered and defeated by 
Cortes, who caused Cacama and the pther members of 
the league to be seized, and brought to Mexico in chains. 
This success completed the fall of Montezuma, who now 
acknowledged his inferiority to the King of Spain, and 
put the revenues of the kingdom, and all his private 
treasures, at the command of Cortes. A booty of nearly 
£ 1,500,000 was thus secured"; a fifth of which was re- 
served for the Spanish CrowTi, and another fifth for 
Cortes, the remainder being divided in certain propor- 
tions among the army, to the dissatisfaction of the com- 
mon soldiers, who received a very small share. Cortes, 
however, again soothed their murmurs by the eloquence 
of which he appears to have been such a consummate 
master. 

The Mexicans were not so complaisant as their sover- 
eign to the despotic acts of the Spaniards. Cortes, in 
his zeal for the faith of Christ, violated the sanctity of 
the great heathen temple, by clearing one of its altars 
for the use of his followers. A violent sentiment of 
indignation possessed the people, and Montezmna warned 
Cortes that it might become uncontrollable, unless he 
-withdrew from the city. While in this state of threat- 
ening danger, the Spanish general received news of yet 
more alarming import. Velasquez, enraged at the suc- 
cess of Cortes, had fitted out an expedition, under the 
command of a cavaher named Narvaez, to supersede 
him in Mexico. 

Narvaez reached Villa Rica with a fleet of eighteen 
vessels, 900 Spaniards, and 2,000 Indians, in April, 1520. 
The governor of the garrison seized a few soldiers sent 



282 HEENANDO CORTES. 

on shore, and forwarded them as prisoners to Cortes ; 
who, however, treated them kindly, and returned a pacific 
message to Narvaez, asking for his co-operation in the 
work of subduing Mexico. That leader treated the mes- 
sage with contempt; but the priests who brought it 
greatly impressed the soldiers with the advantages to be 
derived from uniting with their comrades. Cortes, ac- 
cordingly, left two thirds of his men as a garrison in 
Mexico, under an officer named Alvarado, obtained a 
thousand Cholulans as a reinforcement, and marched 
against Narvaez with the remainder of his force, amount- 
ing to only 266 Spaniards. 

Relying on his greater numbers, Narvaez was care- 
less and imprudent ; stationing his troops beside a river, 
which he rehed on the inabihty of Cortes to cross. The 
General, however, effected the passage by night, and 
came suddenly on the slumbering army. The surprise 
was complete, the artillery was silenced, Narvaez 
wounded and made prisoner, and liis followers induced 
or compelled to surrender. By a division of the spoil 
found in the camp among the conquered Spaniards, 
Cortes secured their adherence to his own army. He 
had scarcely concluded this arrangement, when news 
came of an insurrection in Mexico. He obtained an 
additional force of Tlascalans, and with an army of Span- 
iards, now 2,000 in number, hastened back to the capital, 
perceiving on his way symptoms of hostiHty among the 
natives. Entering the city, he found from Alvarado that, 
owing to information received by that officer of a contem- 
plated rising among the citizens, he had violently as- 
saulted and massacred a large number of the nobility, 



HEKNANDO CORTES. 283 

assembled at a religious festival. The citizens rose in 
arms, and would have retaliated on the Spaniards but 
for the intercession of Montezuma. They had, however, 
withheld provisions ever since, and starvation was threat- 
ening the garrison when Cortes returned. 

The insurgents were, soon seen in full force ; the Em- 
peror's brother, Cuitlahua, who had been sent by Cortes 
with the hope of calming their anger, heading their 
ranks, and besieging the Spanish quarters. A terrible 
conflict ensued, in which the artillery of the Spaniards, 
and the bravery of their Tlascalan allies, scarcely suc- 
ceeded in overcoming the obstinate fury of the immense 
host which stormed round the palace. On the tliird day, 
Cortez determined to make use of his Imperial captive 
as an intercessor. He consented to address the people ; 
but immediately he declared liimself well disposed to the 
Spaniards, a shower of stones was thrown at him, one of 
which struck him to the ground. He was borne away 
senseless ; but on recovering, refused to have the wound 
dressed. Weary of his dishonored life, he expired a 
few days after, commending his family to the mercy of 
Cortes. 

Meantime the siege of the Spaniards, and their counter 
attacks, proceeded. In one of the latter, made upon the 
great temple, where a body of Mexican nobles was sta- 
tioned, Cortes was nearly killed by two warriors, who 
endeavored to hurl him from one of its terraces. By a 
vigorous effort he released himself, and threw over one 
of his opponents from the same height. The temple and 
many adjoining buildings were then fired, and hundreds 
miserably perished in the flames. Still the Mexicans 



284 HERNANDO CORTES. 

showed no signs of yielding, and the retreat of the Span- 
iards was hindered by the destruction of the chief canal 
bridges. Cortes made a final effort to secure the pos- 
session of the few yet remaining. Tliis was successful, 
and he then resolved to quit the capital. Cacama, the 
nephew of Montezuma, and some of the family of the 
deceased Emperor, were carried away as prisoners. 

On the 1st July, 1520, the Spaniards commenced their 
retreat. On reaching a canal, for the purpose of crossing 
which they had brought a portable bridge, it failed to act, 
and at this moment a vast body of the enemy fell upon 
them. Hundreds were pushed into the water, and 
choked the passage. Ths slaughter was immense, the 
Spaniards being taken at disadvantage, and overpowered 
by numbers. The loss of their baggage and treasure 
proved the safety of the small band that escaped the 
furious attack of the enemy, who stayed pursuit to seize 
the spoil. 450 Spaniards and 2,000 of their allies are 
said to have fallen, and the remainder were deprived of 
those weapons on which they mainly depended for future 
success against a barbarian foe, — every musket being 
lost. The Mexicans put to death Cacama and all the 
other prisoners, several Christians being sacrificed to the 
gods. 

The broken line of Spaniards continued its retreat, — 
Cortes being deeply affected at his misfortune, but not 
yet wholly disheartened. The army underwent the 
greatest privations from want and fatigue in its march 
across the plains, and, on reaching the valley of Otumba, 
found a large ai'my of 1:he enemy there encamped. Cu- 
itlahua, the successor of Montezuma, had levied troops 



HERNANDO CORTES. 285 

from all the dependencies of Mexico to oppose the Span- 
iards, and all the great caciques of the empire were 
present. Notwithstanding the number of his assailants, 
Cortes determined to give battle. He inspirited his 
troops with his own ardor, advising them to thrust their 
lances and swords in the faces of the foe, which were 
unprotected ; and especially to aim at the chieftains, 
whose fall would be sufficient to insure the flight of their 
followers. The result proved the wisdom of his tactics. 
The swords of the Spaniards cleared a road for them 
through the dense ranks of the enemy. After a fight of 
several hours, however, the Indians were gaining on their 
opponents, when Cortes, who saw at a distance the Mexi- 
can commander, made a bold dash in that direction, with 
a few cavaliers. The Httle knot of officers round the 
chief was reached, and Cortes plunged into its midst, 
hurlino; his lance at his antagfonist, and brino-ino- liim to 
the ground, where he was slain. The attendants fled, 
and the death of then* chieftain was communicated to the 
whole army. The flight became general, and the day 
was won by the Spaniards. As many as 20,000 Indians 
are said to have fallen. After a prayer of gratitude, the 
Spaniards loaded themselves with the treasure left by the 
fugitives, and resumed their march. On reaching the 
capital of Tlascala, they were kindly received by the 
caciques of the republic, who renewed their alliance. 

Cortes, after refreshing his troops for some time, 
strengthened his position in tlie empire, by punishing 
several tribes which had acted treacherously towards his 
soldiers at Vera Cruz and elsewhere. He received an 
addition to his force by the desertion of the crews of 



286 HEENANDO CORTES. 

two ships, which had been sent by Velasquez to Vera 
Cruz, and of three other vessels, sent by the Governor 
of Jamaica to found a new colony. Now, therefore, 
feeling himself strong enough to retake the capital of 
Mexico, he set out in the middle of December, 1520. 
His Spanish troops amounted to about 600 men, — 
some of whom were armed with muskets. His allies 
were very numerous, probably several thousands in num- 
ber, armed with bows and pikes. Crossing the snowy 
mountain-chain which obstructed its progress, the army 
entered the Texcucan territory, and reached its capital 
on the last day of the year 1520. Thence, by several 
successful expeditions, Cortes induced many of the tribu- 
taries of Mexico to desert their allegiance, and unite with 
him in breakino; off their bondage. He next sent a mes- 
sage to the new Emperor of Mexico, Guatemozin, who 
had recently succeeded Montezuma's brother on the 
throne, offering to secure his power, on condition of his 
acknowledging the supremacy of Spain. Guatemozin, a 
youthful and valorous prince, who bore a mortal hatred 
to the invaders, returned no reply, but busied himself in 
strengthening the city and animating his people. 

In the spring of 1521, Cortes, having procured thirteen 
vessels for the use of his army on the great Mexican 
lake, left a garrison at Texcuco, and advanced towards 
the Imperial capital. He was, however, called aside to 
subdue several cities in the valley, where Aztec garrisons 
had been placed, which continually harassed his soldiers ; 
and, though meeting everywhere with determined resist- 
ance, he inflicted, in return, the most severe penalties. 
A new canal for his vessels was dug by his Indian allies, 



HEENANDO COKTES. 287 

and joined to the lake. The besieging army was then 
formed into three divisions, each of which had a separate 
camp stationed at the head of the causeways over the 
lake which communicated with the capital. An attack 
on the Spanish vessels, made by Guatemozin with a fleet 
of canoes, was successfully resisted, the whole Mexican 
flotilla being shattered to pieces by the artillery, which 
was brought to bear upon it. Thus, being masters of the 
lake, the Spaniards proceeded to block up all other chan- 
nels of communication between the besieged and the 
neighbormg district. This being accomphshed, the be- 
siegers advanced down the main causeway which led 
into the city. They met with opposition at every point. 
Behind every breach was a baud of spearmen ; on every 
flat house-roof a crowd of shngers. Ramparts of stone 
protected the sid'es of the canals, and wide ditches with- 
out bridges intersected the roads. By means, however, 
of his artillery, Cortes destroyed the strongest defences, 
and drove the defenders for shelter to the temples. His 
inroads were made day by day, the troops retreating at 
night to their quarters. Guatemozin, meantime, actively 
exerted himself to repair the devastation thus caused, 
and, by means of sorties, to harass the foe. Famine, 
however, began to commit its ravages in the city. 
Though the ruin of the empire was at hand, nothing that 
courage could perform was spared to avert it. A bold 
assault which Cortes made upon the central market-place 
was unsuccessful, many of his soldiers being slaughtered 
or dro^vned, sixty-two taken prisoners, and he himself 
scarcely escaping. The unfortunate captives were all 
sacrificed, and their heads sent by the Emperor to the 



288 HEKNANDO CORTES. 

dllies of the Spaniards. This for a time availed to thin 
the ranks of the besiegers ; but, on the failure of a rash 
prophecy uttered by the Aztec priests, that eight days 
would witness the ruin of the Spaniards, most of their 
allies returned. Having obtained an increase of military 
stores, Cortes determined to pursue no longer his gener- 
ous poUcy of sparing the buildings of the capital, but to 
end the siege at once. The palaces and temples were 
accordingly thrown down, and the canals blocked up. 
The Imperial palace was next fired, and finally the great 
temple destroyed. The market-place was soon after- 
wards captured, and the Spaniards were masters of the 
city. They found famine and pestilence holding a revel 
in its interior ; hundreds dying in the streets, and resting 
there unburied ; the survivors ghding about like their 
ghosts. Yet Guatemozin held out still, with a large and 
desperate band, among which women and children fought 
like men. The Spaniards swept down thousands with 
their artillery, and the streets were soaked in blood like 
water. The final act of carnage was committed on the 
15th of August, 1521, when the Mexicans resisted for 
the last time, and were butchered in such masses that the 
streets were piled with dead bodies. The Emperor, in 
an attempt to escape, was captured, and led into the pres- 
ence of Cortes, who received him with respect, and 
promised him protection. Between one and two hundred 
thousand Mexicans are said to have perished in this fear- 
ful siege. But little booty was found in the city, most of 
it having been destroyed. The clamors of the soldiers 
induced Cortes to put Guatemozin to the torture, in 
hopes of forcing him to discover if any treasure had been 



HEENANDO CORTES. 289 

hidden ; but no confession was extracted, and Cortes 
ashamed of his cruelty, released his courageous prisoner 
in time to save his Hfe. 

Mexico having fallen, the empire was practically sub- 
dued, and the caciques sent in their submission. The 
capital was rebuilt, the conquered people being pressed 
into the service of reconstruction, and performing the 
work with great rapidity. Cortes forwarded home a full 
account of the conquest ; and, though at fii'st his services 
were overlooked through the malignant influence of Ve- 
lasquez, the interest of powerful friends prevailed, and 
the conqueror was appointed by Charles V., in 1522, 
Governor and Chief-justice of New Spain. He remained 
in Mexico some years, during which time he zealously 
carried on the rebuilding of the capital. A Christian ca- 
thedral was erected on the site of the heathen temple, the 
Governor's palace and a Franciscan convent also occu- 
pying prominent positions. Christianity was diligently 
preached ; and, if we may believe the statements of the 
missionai'ies, no less than nine millions of the native pop- 
ulation embraced the faith within twenty years from the 
conquest. Spaniards were invited to settle in the coun- 
try, and brought with them European grain and plants, 
which, in a short period, effected nearly as striking a 
change in the natural aspect of Mexico as its national 
character exhibited by the alteration of government. 

In 1524 Cortes was called into Honduras, where he 
had established a colony, by the tidings of an insurrec- 
tion. The journey was tedious and dangerous, and many 
of his soldiers perished from want and fatigue. On the 
route, a conspiracy broke out against him, in which the 
13 s 



290 HEENANDO CORTES. 

deposed Emperor, Guatemozin, and some Aztec nobles 
were concerned. It was discovered, and the rebels pun- 
ished with instant death, — an act of severity for which 
Cortes has been much blamed by those who consider that 
the alleged conspiracy was not sufficiently proved against 
Guatemozin. From his influence over the natives, it 
was doubtless convenient to get rid of him on the slight- 
est pretext. After quelling the rising in Honduras, Cor- 
tes returned to Mexico, where an insurrection had arisen 
on the false report of his death. His presence sufficed to 
restore order, but he was permitted only a brief repose. 

In July, 1526, he was astonished by the intelligence 
that, owing to the malicious slanders of some of his per- 
sonal enemies, who charged him with misappropriating 
the Mexican revenues, and aspiring to the throne, he had 
been superseded in the government until a commission 
had reported on the truth of the accusation. Estrada, 
the Royal Commissioner, exceeded his duty, and treated 
Cortes with indignity. The conqueror, therefore, deter- 
mined to return home, and seek from the King in person 
a redress of his injuries. 

He reached Spain in May, 1528 ; and, in spite of the 
charges brought against him, was received by Charles V. 
with the utmost honor. He was ennobled as Marquis of 
the Oaxacan Valley in Mexico, where he obtained the 
gi'ant of a large territory. His military command was 
restored to him, but he was not reinstated in his civil ap- 
pointment. After marrying a second time, on the death 
of his first wife, he returned to Mexico in 1530. The 
slanderous imputations were not withdrawn by the com- 
missioners, one of whom was his personal foe ; but no fur- 



HEENANDO CORTES. 291 

ther proceedings took place. Finding that the authorities 
who exercised the civil government of Mexico interfered 
with his military duties, he resigned his office and retired 
to his estates. 

In 1532-3 he fitted out two squadrons on voyages of 
discovery, which were unsuccessful. Another expedition 
was more prosperous, — the squadron sailing round the 
coast of California for many miles. Being aggrieved by 
the opposition of the Mexican government to his schemes, 
Cortes returned home, in 1540, to seek redress. Charles 
V. had lost his interest in the progress of science, or the 
merit of Cortes, and paid no attention to his petitions. 
After a final and dignified appeal to his ungrateful sov- 
ereign, wliich obtained no answer, Cortes determined to 
return to Mexico. He died at Seville, on his road to the 
coast, in December, 1547, at the age of sixty-two. His 
services were recognized immediately after his death, and 
his burial was performed with the most solemn rites. 

The genius, the virtues, and the vices of a conqueror, 
are all to be remarked in the character of Cortes. His 
firmness, patience, observation of human nature, and in- 
genuity, are beyond praise. Unscrupulous in effecting 
his purpose, he was not wholly without a conscientious 
motive for his most selfish designs. His bigotry is his 
most laudable characteristic, violent and fierce as it was. 
Li his lust of power and gain, and the stem cruelty by 
which he achieved the satisfaction of both, he typified the 
spirit which, under the cover of Christianizing zeal, ani- 
mated the leading enterprises of Spanish adventurers dur- 
ing the sixteenth century. A mongrel Christianity was, 
indeed, propagated by the conquerors in the heathen lands 



292 HEENANDO COETES. 

which they subdued. But, sown by those who exhibited 
as results of their faith deeds of murder, fraud, and licen- 
tiousness, the seeds of the religion of love, justice, and 
purity, could scarcely be expected to bring forth good 
fruit. If, in the final issue of events, the conquests thus 
cruelly won proved to be instruments of Christianity, civ- 
ilization, and science, the beneficial result must be as- 
cribed to the overruling wisdom and goodness of Him 
who decrees that even " the wrath of man shall praise 
ffim." 



iustatas f asa. 



THE LIBERATION OP SWEDEN. 

The inhabitants of the ancient Scandinavia were only 
known tliroughout the middle ages as bold pirates by 
land and sea. As Danes and Norwegians, they rav- 
aged the coasts of England, and for a space even usurped 
the throne. As Northmen, or Normans, they invaded 
France, and obtained a grant of the large and valuable 
duchy, called after them, Normandy. Some roamed 
ftirther south, and founded kmgdoms in Sicily and the 
coasts of Italy ; while others first invaded the temtory, 
and then entered the service, of the Eastern Emperors, 
where, under the name of Varangians, they were long the 
most trustworthy guards of the Byzantine throne. This 
Northern race was essentially Gothic in constitution, and 
sti'ikingly displayed its characteristic features, — a love 
of orderly freedom, strong rehgious and poetic feelmg, 
coupled with violent passions and a lax conscience. Of 
the tlu-ee countries into which, owing to natural bound- 
ai'ies, or separation of races, Scandinavia was divided at 
an early period, Denmark and Norway speedily adopted 
a monarchical form of government, but Sweden remamed 
for a longer time severed mto small independent states. 
At last the race of Odin, the reputed leader of the Goths 



294 GUSTAVUS VASA. 

who subdued tlie original Finnish tribes, estabhshed its 
sway over both the conquerors and the conquered in 
Sweden. Constant wars, arising out of the absence of 
national affinity, disturbed the country till the eleventh 
century, when the Odinic dynasty terminated. A tem- 
porary union took place under the rule of Stenkill and 
his successors, but did not long continue. In the twelfth 
century a compromise was effected between the two 
races, according to which a Gothic and a Finnish king 
were alternately elected. This system, though giving 
rise to endless disputes, was not changed until 1389, 
when Albert, a German prince of the house of Mecklen- 
burgh, who succeeded his cousin Eric XII., was over- 
thrown by Margaret, Queen of Norway and Denmark. 
The chief event in the history of the three nations, prior 
to theu" occupying a prominent position in European 
history, was their union into ^ triple kingdom by this 
princess. She was the widow of Hakan, King of Norway, 
the daughter and heiress of Waldemar, King of Denmark, 
and the conqueror of Albert of Mecklenburgh, King of 
Sweden. Both inheritance and conquest were by her 
added to the possessions of her late husband, by the 
Treaty of Calmar in 1398. The junction was not happy ; 
for, though it served to terminate the old quarrels, which 
had so long agitated the three nations, it gave rise to new 
jealousies, owing to the impossibihty of securing an equal 
distribution of honors and advantages between three ad- 
mittedly equal states. Denmark, as the native country 
of Margaret, was naturally favored by her and her suc- 
cessor, Eric XIII. ; and Sweden, as the only conquered 
country, was naturally slighted. The oppression of the 



GUSTAVUS VASA. 295 

Danish officers in Sweden at last drove the people of 
Dalecarha to revolt, and Eric was forced to resign the 
crown. Carl Cnutson, a powerful Swedish noble, who 
headed the revolt, was finally elected King of Sweden m 
1448, and mamtained its freedom against Christian I. of 
Oldenburg, who wore the united crowns of Norway and 
Denmark. After the death of Carl, his nephew, Steno 
Stur^, was elected King, and defeated the Danes in an 
important battle in 1471, which prevented any attempts 
on the freedom of Sweden for some years. In 1483, 
however, the Treaty of Calmar was renewed, and the 
three crowns were united under John, the son of Chris- 
tian I. Dissatisfaction with his government soon pro- 
duced a revolution in Sweden, and Steno Sture was 
chosen independent Regent in 1501. The title was con- 
tinued to his relatives, Swante and Steno, successively, 
who courageously sustained the conflict with Denmark. 
On the death of King John in 1513, his son, Christian 
n. succeeded ; and it was in the early part of his reign, 
and the antagonistic regency of Steno Sture the younger 
in Sweden, that the hero of our present sketch, Gustavus 
Vasa, made his first historical appearance. 

His surname was Ericson, that is, the son of Eric, 
Vasa being the name of his family, which was of ancient, 
if not royal descent, and had produced several members 
of the State Council. He was born about the year 1496, 
near Stockholm ; his father, Eric Johanson, bemg a State 
Councillor, and his mother sister-in-law of Steno Sture 
the younger. He was educated at Upsala, where he was 
known while a boy for a frank, daring disposition, com- 
bmed with shrewdness and patience. 



296 GUSTAVUS VASA. 

At the age of eighteen he was received at the Swedish 
Court, and there imbibed a zealous sentiment of hatred 
against the Danish invaders of his country. The leading 
politician of Denmark at this period was TroUe, Arch- 
bishop of Upsala, a haughty, unprincipled man. Gus- 
tavus first drew his sword in an engagement which took 
place in 1517, between the Swedes and a Danish army 
sent to reheve Trolle, who was besieged in his castle of 
Stekeborg by Steno Sture. The castle was ' taken, and 
the Archbishop compelled to renounce his see, and retire 
to a monastery. In the following year, Gustavus bore 
the great banner of Sweden at the battle of Brankyrka, 
fought between the Regent and King Clu'istian II. The 
King was defeated, but after the engagement opened 
negotiations for peace; Sture, meantime, supplying the 
Royal troops with provisions. Christian, taking advan- 
tage of this generosity, proposed a conference on board 
his vessel, but Stur4 was not permitted by his councillors 
to comply. Six nobles were therefore sent as hostages 
for the safety of the King, who came on shore, and among 
them was Gustavus. No sooner had they entered a boat 
to convey them on board, than the treacherous Danes 
seized it, and bore the hostages as prisoners to Denmark. 
Gustavus was committed to the custody of a relative, at a 
castle in North Jutland. Here he suffered httle bodily 
restraint, but the acutest mental disquietude at the tidings 
which ever and anon reached him from Sweden, against 
which Christian was preparing a vast army of invasion. 
Gustavus at last could bear his confinement no longer, 
and availing himself of a favorable opportunity, in the 
autumn of 1519, escaped from the castle in the disguise 



GUSTAVUS VASA. 297 

of a drover. He fled to Lubeck, where tlie burgomaster 
and council of this flourishing commercial citj, influenced 
partly by compassion and partly by suspicion of the de- 
signs of Denmark upon the Hanse towns, refused to give 
him up, but permitted his returning to Sweden. He 
reached Calmar, and thence traversed the country in dis- 
guise, sounding the popular feeling, and stirring up disaf- 
fection to the Danish yoke. During his wanderings, he 
learnt tidings of the tragedies which had been and were 
being enacted. 

In January, 1520, the Danes had signally defeated the 
Swedes under Sture, who died of the wounds received in 
the battle. None was found brave enough to fill his post, 
and many of the nobles submitted to Christian, upon an 
amnesty for past offences being accorded them. The 
peasants still held out in certam districts ; but Stockholm 
and the leading towns yielded, and the conquest of 
Sweden was held to be achieved. The King resolved to 
secure it by an act of diabohcal perfidy. He summoned 
the highest nobles of Sweden to attend his coronation, on 
the 1st of November, 1520. Trolle, the Ai-chbishop of 
Upsala, performed the ceremony. .Amid the festivities 
attendant on this event, and the apparent cordiality of 
the King and Ai'chbishop towards their recent enemies, 
ninety-four of the latter, including two bishops, twelve 
nobles, among whom were the father and brother-in-law 
of Gustavus, and several burgesses of Stockholm, were 
suddenly arrested for the crime of having deposed Trolle 
and destroyed his castle of Stekeborg, — an act just 
pai'doned, among other pohtical offences, by the King's 
solemn oath and treaty. Condemned by a packed tiibunal, 
13* 



298 GUSTAVUS VASA. 

after a brief trial, the victims of this monstrous treachery 
were pubUcly beheaded or hanged in the mai-ket-place 
of Stockholm, on the 8th of November, — even the last 
rites of religion being refused them. Many of the friends 
and retainers of the sufferers were then pitilessly massa- 
cred. This event is known in Swedish history as the 
Bloodbath. 

Eoused to a burning anger at the murder of his kins- 
men, and a patriotism scarcely less ardent at the fall of 
his country, Gustavus devoted his life to the work of 
vengeance. He passed into Dalecarlia at the close of the 
year 1520, where he relied on the sturdy character of 
the Dalesmen for support in his enterprise. Here he 
took service with the miners and farmers, — running the 
most hairbreadth escapes of detection on several occa- 
sions. He was once or twice discovered by his dress and 
manner, and soldiers were sent in search of him. At a 
barn in Isalaby he was one day concealed among the 
straw of a wagon of his protector, a forester named Elf- 
son. Some troopers searched the place, and in thrusting 
their spears through the straw, wounded the leg of the 
fugitive. The blood flowed down on to the snow, but Elf- 
son concealed its real cause by secretly gashing his horse 
in the leg at that moment, and thus deceived the soldiers, 
who went off in another direction. At another time Gus- 
tavus was hidden for three days in a fir-tree, and fed by 
the peasantry. This class he roused to insurrection by 
his glowing eloquence in describing the story of the Blood- 
bath. Success attended his exertions. At Mora, the chief 
village of the Dales, he was elected Captain-general of the 
kingdom. 

In February, 1521, he took possession of the great 



GUSTAVUS VASA. 299 

copper mine, and seized the royal revenues. Thence he 
traversed Gestrickland, and obtained promises of support 
from Gefle and other towns. Meantime, Trolle and 
the authorities, who, on Christian's departure for Den- 
mark administered rule in Stockholm, sent an army of 
6,000 men to put down this peasant insurrection, as it 
was deemed. Swenson, an able Dalesman, whom Gus- 
tavus appointed General during his absence in Gestrick- 
land, completely routed the Danes on the banks of the 
Dalelfven. Gustavus now issued a proclamation of war 
agamst Christian, whom he denounced as a perjured and 
blood-stained usurper, from allegiance to whom all good 
Swedes were absolved. He followed up this declaration 
by an attack on the important town of Yesteras, where 
Slaghec, one of Christian's chief favorites, commanded 
the Danes. They were defeated mainly through the 
vigor of Gustavus. After a partial victory, his first de- 
tachment had commenced pillaging the town, and thus 
given time to the Danes to form anew, when he sent in 
a fresh reserve, and decided the struggle. His next step 
was to attack the Archbishop of Upsala in his palace. 
Owing to the careless contempt of Trolle, the assault 
was successful, and the palace was burnt ; but he himself 
escaped. As a result of this achievement, the Assembly 
or Council of the States, which met at Vadstena in 
August, 1521, feeling confident of the final triumph of 
Gustavus, offered him the crown of Sweden. He was 
too wise and too patriotic, however, to accept this dignity 
at the hands of a section of the people, and therefore 
assumed only the title of Regent, which gave him full 
power to command the military forces, and direct the 
policy of the State. 



300 GUSTAVUS VASA. 

His career from this date is not marked by the records 
of any memorable battles, but was a gradual progress 
towards final success. Stockholm was besieged by his 
forces, which were reinforced by a fleet from his former 
friends at Lubeck, and it finally yielded in June, 1523. 
The treachery of Christian so disgusted his Danish sub- 
jects that they deposed him, and elected Frederick, Duke 
of Holstein, as their king. This change of government 
determined the Swedish nobles to press upon Gustavus 
the offer of that crown ; and as their voice was echoed 
by that of the nation, he consented to be elected in 
June, 1523. 

As a king, Gustavus fully justified the choice of the 
Swedes. He soon made peace with Frederick, who but 
feebly supported the claim of Denmark to the possession 
of Sweden. Adopting the Lutheran tenets from prin- 
ciple, Gustavus favored their propagation in the country, 
but checked the excesses to which they had given rise 
in Germany, and tempered the zeal of the new converts 
with his own moderation. 

In 1527 he proposed a measure, which was adopted at 
the same time in England ; viz. the appropriation by the 
Crown of the Church revenues. Finding the Council 
indisposed to grant him an uncontrolled authority over 
such large wealth, he announced his abdication as the 
only alternative, — an act evincing the highest integrity, 
or. tlie firmest assurance in the affection of his people. 
The storm of enthusiasm with which he was greeted by 
the burghers and peasants, during the deliberation of the 
colder nobles on the alternatives he had submitted, con- 
vinced the latter that his confidence had not been mis- 
placed. He, meantime, showed no anxiety as to the 



GUSTAVUS VASA. 301 

result, but passed his time in diversions of various kinds. 
The effect of this pohcy was soon manifest. The Coun- 
cil, warned by the exliibition of popular feeling, and 
roused to a sense of the value of Gustavus, yielded his 
demands. The measure was passed mianimously, and 
his power secured amid the joyful acclamations of the 
whole nation. 

The remainder of his reign was not free from internal 
dissensions, or foreign wars, but none were of importance 
sufficient to demand a detailed narration. He sedulously 
promoted commerce and the general improvement of the 
country, — evincing, in his correspondence with his offi- 
cers, an intimate acquaintance with the practical ma- 
chinery of the reforms which he suggested. Under his 
rule SAveden enjoyed the greatest prosperity, and took 
a high rank among European states. His latter years 
were somewhat imbittered by domestic anxieties, arismg 
out of the jealousies of his sons by different mothers. 
He was himself the unintentional cause of these disputes, 
by having imprudently anticipated in his lifetime the 
future distribution of his possessions by will. He was 
thi'ice married, and left several childi'en. After a gradual 
decay of strength for some time, he expired, amid the 
consolations of his faith and the affectionate tears of his 
people, on the 29th September, 1560. It would be pos- 
sible to point out certain failings in the character of 
Gustavus, but the task would be alike ungracious and 
unprofitable. Considered in his public or private capaci- 
ties, as patriot, judge, and statesman, — as husband, father, 
and friend, there are few kingly names which can be pro- 
nounced with such satisfaction as that of Gustavus Vasa. 



IgM&is f d^fll^. 



THE JESUITS. 

The corruptions of the Church of Rome, which gave 
rise to the Protestant Reformation in the North of Eu- 
rope, produced a CathoHc Reformation in the South. 
With men of thoughtful and inquiring minds, doctrine is 
more important than practice. The reverse is true of 
passionate and impulsive temperaments. Thus in Ger- 
many, England, and Sweden, the flagrant violation of 
the doctrine of God's free grace, exhibited in the sale of 
Papal indulgences, gave far greater offence, and origi- 
nated a much deeper sentiment of resistance, than the 
flagrant violation of virtue and decorum exhibited in the 
condition of the monastic houses. In Spain and Italy, 
on the other hand, it was the perfidy, profligacy, and 
worldliness of the highest dignitaries of the Church, and 
the powerlessness of its agencies for good thence result- 
ing, that produced a strong reaction of practical improve- 
ment, at the very same period when the doctrinal reforms 
of Protestantism were being effected. The majestic 
beauty of the Romish theory and ritual, to which the 
colder Northerns Were but slightly sensitive, fascinated 
the ardent Southerns far too strongly to be obscured by 
any blemishes in practice. To remove these by zealous 



IGNATIUS LOYOLA. 303 

measures of reform, was the ambition of earnest believers. 
The hero of the movement, and type of Cathohc reform- 
ers, was Ignatius Loyola. 

He was born in 1491, of a noble Biscayan family in 
Spain. Trained to the military profession in the service 
of Charles V., he. embraced its romantic side with a 
chivalric ardor, rare even in a Spaniard, and fitter for 
the times of Charlemagne or the Cid than his own. He 
entertained an imaginative passion for a princess of ex- 
alted station, in whose name and for whose sake he as- 
pired to the loftiest achievements of prowess in the field, 
and enterprise throughout the world. His dreams were 
soon ended, or rather, altered. At the assault of Pam- 
plona, which was besieged by the French and Navarrese, 
he received a wound that confined him to his bed for 
many months, and crippled him for the remainder of liis 
life. Solitude and sickness changed his thoughts aiid 
prospects. His career had been that of a reckless and 
frivolous soldier. Influenced by the convictions of con- 
science and the study of religious works, he rose from his 
bed of sickness, resolved that his future should be the 
very opposite of his past The Church, the Virgin Queen 
of the world, was to be the object of his idolatrous devo- 
tion. To cleanse her garments from the stains of sin, and 
render her a pure spouse, meet for the heavenly bride- 
groom, was now the ambition of his life. Full of this 
hope, and buoyed up by a restless and diseased imagina- 
tion, yet with a fervent piety and charity, Loyola entered 
upon his mission of reform. He practised ceaseless pen- 
ances and watchings, undertook a journey to the arid 
sands of Syria, and worshipped at the Holy Sepulchre. 



304 IGNATIUS LOYOLA. 

He returned to Europe in 1526, and commenced his 
career as preacher in the University of Alcala, where he 
succeeded in impressing some of the students with his 
own views. A tinge of wildness in his tone, and the 
novelty of his high moral standard in that corrupt age, 
attracted the attention of the Inquisition to him, and by 
the authority of that deadly foe to reforms he was silenced 
by imprisonment for two years. Not discouraged, on his 
release he repaired to Paris, and gave up some time to 
study. Here he made the acquaintance of several enthu- 
siasts of his own character. After numerous discussions, 
the conclave met in the underground chapel of Mont- 
martre Abbey. Here they finally concocted a scheme 
for the radical improvement of the Church, — a scheme 
afterwards developed mto the foundation of a new order. 
From Paris Loyola went to Venice, and enrolled himself 
as a member of a monastic body called " The Theatines," 
whose object was to convert and minister to the poorest 
classes, which the regular clergy neglected. " At the con- 
vent of this order Loyola remained some time, and em- 
ployed himself in the zealous discharge of his office. He 
seemed to hve almost without food and clothing, so scanty 
were his meals, so ragged his dress. After assiduously 
waiting upon the poor and sick at the hospitals, he would 
wander about the squares and streets of the city, and, by 
his strange gestures, and stranger words, attract round 
him knots of hsteners, to whom he preached of the 
glory of the Church and the blessedness of her faithful 
childi'en. Other cities in Spain and France were the 
witnesses of his self-denying labors and street preach- 
ings. 



IGNATIUS LOYOLA. 305 

In 1534 he repaired to Rome, and sought an audience 
of the Pope. Being destitute of position or patronage, it 
was long ere Loyola obtained an opportunity of announc- 
ing to the successor of St. Peter a scheme for the confir- 
mation and extension of his authority. The time, how- 
ever, arrived; and after many rebuffs and disappoint- 
ments, the Spaniard's ardent plan for instituting a new 
mechanism of reform was sanctioned by Pope Paul III., 
in 1536. The foundation of the Society of Jesus was 
thus estabhshed. Its aims were to purify the Church 
and to propagate the faith, both by attacking heretics and 
converting the heathen. Little did the pious and mis- 
guided Spaniard foresee how gigantic the engine which 
he had constructed would eventually become, — gigantic 
for evil not less than good ! He did not Uve long enough 
to have his eyes fully opened to the result of his exer- 
tions. He laid the constitution of the Order on a mili- 
tary basis, arranging its government in grades, until the 
post of Superior was reached, over whom none had any 
control save the Pope. This form accounts for the favor 
with which the Popes regarded the new Order. The 
monastic bodies generally were self-governed and demo- 
cratic in character ; whereas this served to exalt the ab- 
solute despotism of the Papacy. In 1541 Loyola was 
made Superior of the Order. After a rigorous hfe of 
self-mortification, he died in 1556. 

A few words must suffice to describe the workings of 
the spirit evoked by Loyola's influence. On one side, no 
doubt, there was, and has been, a change for the better. 
In place of worldly and dissolute Popes, the See was 
generally filled by men of earnest souls and saintly fives. 

T 



306 IGNATIUS LOYOLA. 

The character of the clergy and monastic orders was im- 
proved, and placed under due inspection. Christianity, 
unaccompanied by the fatally persuasive eloquence of the 
sword and the musket, was preached in heathen lands, 
and heretics. were combated with a bigotry, in which the 
element of sincerity must justly be severed from that of 
ferocity. The cause of education also has been a gainer 
by the writings of learned Jesuits. On the other hand, 
the principles of that diabolical policy, which men have 
learned to execrate under the name of Jesuitiy, were 
given forth to the world, in the name of the true and holy 
Jesus. Founded originally with the aim of purifying the 
Church, as a means of glorifying God and benefiting man, 
the Society of Jesus was speedily perverted, by the craft 
)f designing prelates and politicians, into a tool for glori- 
fying the Church, at the expense of God and man. " The 
end sanctifies the means," is its motto, — obedience its 
guiding principle. Devoting themselves to an idea, — 
\he supreme dignity of the Order, which represents the 
Church, — the members of the Society are only men in 
so far as they are Jesuits. Every feeling of right or 
wrong, pleasure or pain, is deliberately sacrificed to the 
higher consideration of the benefits accruing to the Order. 
Mixing either openly or in secret with the world, as 
priests, monks, statesmen, professors, students, soldiers, or 
merchants, — prominent in the conclave, the court, the 
council, the university, the battle-field, or the exchange, — 
employed in the heart of a great city or the solitude of an 
Indian prairie, — the Jesuit remains the same, bound by 
indissoluble ties to his profession, in constant communica- 
tion with the governing body of his Order. Into any 



IGNATIUS LOYOLA. 307 

intrigue, from the most subtly political to the most grossly 
passionate, he may not scruple to enter, if any advantage 
to the Society can be derived thereby. Repeatedly put 
down, or weakened even by Papal authority, and expelled 
from every Em'opean state in turn, the Order yet flour- 
ishes. The annals of this formidable and pernicious sys- 
tem — could they be written — would unfold the black- 
est pages m the chronicle of human nature. 



HIiiim tlje Jbt of ©range. 



THE DUTCH REPUBLIC. 

By tlie marriage of Margaret, daughter of Louis II., 
Count of Flanders, with Philip, Duke of Burgundy, the 
county became annexed to the duchy in 1385. The 
most eminent of the dukes of Burgundy, after the an- 
nexation, was the turbulent and tyrannical Charles, sur- 
named " The Bold," whose reign was a perpetual scene 
of crime and bloodshed. He misruled his country, and 
was in a state of constant war with his suzerains, Louis 
XL of France and Frederick HI. of Germany. Lie met 
a sudden death by drowning in 1477, and was succeeded 
by his daughter Mary, known in liistory as the lovely 
and sweet-hearted Mary of Burgundy. Her marriage 
with Maximilian, son of the Emperor Frederick, and 
afterwards Maximihan L, secured peace to the troubled 
land for a few years, but on her lamented death, in 1482, 
the Flemings revolted against Maximihan, who, with aU 
his good qualities, was, from his ignorance of the duties 
of a king and the rights of a free people, unfit to govern. 
The revolt was put down after a great effusion of blood, 
but the Flemings obtained favorable terms. The seven- 
teen provinces of which the Northern and Southern Neth- 
erlands were then composed became part of the German 



WILLIAM THE FIRST OF OEANGE. 309 

Empire on the accession of Maximilian to the throne. 
His grandson, Charles V., who united Spain to his other 
vast possessions, abdicated in 1555, and ended his days 
in a Spanish monastery. His brother Ferdinand suc- 
ceeded as Emperor, but the Burgundian territories de- 
scended to Charles's son, Philip II. of Spain, with which 
country they were formerly united by a Pragmatic Sanc- 
tion in 1548. 

The jDrinciples of the Reformation had taken deep 
root in the hearts of the free Netherlanders. Charles V., 
though respecting their civil liberties, attempted to repress 
by force what he deemed their religious heresy. But 
his persecutions were as nothing in comparison with his 
son's. Philip, who was naturally cold, suspicious, and 
cruel, superadded a bigotry of the narrowest and gloomi- 
est cast. In a storm at sea he took a vow of extermi- 
nating the heretics, and kept it to the best of his ability. 
His violence was not openly resisted until he attempted 
to introduce the Inquisition, which had recently acquired 
general execration, in consequence of the martyrdoms 
which had been perpetrated by its authority in Spanish 
America. A petition for its suppression having produced 
no effect, a revolt broke out, in which both the nobility 
and people were implicated. It was put down by Count 
Egmont, the royal general, who, though attached to the 
popular cause, loyally supported his master. Philip re- 
strained his anger, and proclaimed an amnesty ; but sent 
a large army into the Netherlands, under his universally 
detested general, the Duke of Alba, — a man whose per- 
sonal character was as repulsive as his aspect. 

On his approach, Count Egmont and Count Horn, the 



310 WILLIAM THE FIRST OF ORANGE. 

most eminent of the loyally disposed nobles, persuaded 
their fellows to act with moderation and respect. Many, 
however, viewed the designs of Philij) with the utmost 
apprehension. William of Orange, Count of Nassau, 
the w^ealthiest and ablest nobleman of his time in the 
Netherlands, was foremost in this body. 

He w^as the head of the Nassau family — which was 
prominent among the Rhenish nobility — and Prince of 
Orange in Provence. He likewise held the important 
post of Governor or Stadtholder of the provinces of 
Holland, Zealand, and Utrecht. He was born in 1533, 
and bred up by his father as a Protestant ; but having 
obtained favorable notice from Charles V., was by him 
removed to the Court, and instructed in the Catholic 
faith. William's calm and reserved temperament, with 
which were united an unselfish ambition and dauntless 
courage, procured him the esteem and confidence of 
Charles, who took counsel of him in difficult cases when 
he was but twenty years of age. The favor of Charles 
was the reverse of a guarantee for that of his son, and 
Philip soon had as much reason to fear as to hate 
William. Among other nobles, the Count was sent to 
France in 1559, as a hostage for the peace of Chateau 
Cambresis, which terminated a war between Spain and 
France. Here the French King, Henry II., who had 
recently joined in a secret treaty with Spain to suppress 
Protestantism, communicated the information to William, 
who had obtained, for his discretion, the name of " The 
Silent," and was naturally supposed to be as much a 
confidant of Phihp as he had been of Charles. 

On his return to the Netherlands, WilHam soon threw 



WILLIAM THE FIRST OF ORANGE. 311 

off the profession of Catholicism for that of the Reformed 
Calvinistic system, and revealed to his reHgious brethren 
the news which he had heard. Phihp soon discovered 
the detection of the* treaty, but could not openly display 
his anger. During the government of the Duchess of 
Parma, who ruled in the name of her brother* Philip, 
before the Duke of Alba's arrival, Wilham exerted 
all his influence to frustrate the Spanish policy. He 
well knew what fate to expect when the approach of 
this monster of cruelty was announced ; and having failed 
to persuade Egmont and Horn of their imprudence in 
remaining, he sought safety in retirement to his Rhenish 
provinces of Nassau. " I fear you will be the first over 
whose corpse the Spaniards will march," was William's 
farewell warning to Egmont. The event fulfilled the 
prophecy. 

Alba entered Brussels in the summer of 1567, with a 
Spanish and German army. He began by showing much 
mildness to all the late rebels, and the utmost cordiality 
to Egmont and other nobles. This treachery was only 
enacted for a few weeks. Having invited Egmont and 
Horn to an interview, he placed them under arrest ; and 
fearing that, in spite of their loyalty, they would offer a 
formidable resistance to the crimes which he had in con- 
templation, he ordered theu' execution in the following 
year. A court, composed of Spaniards and a few Dutch 
traitors, was then established to pass sentence on all who 
confessed heresy, or who were concerned in the late re- 
volt. Several were condemned without any crime what- 
ever bemg proved agamst them, and a wholesale system 
of persecution was ruthlessly put into operation. Rob- 



312 WILLIAM THE FIEST OF OEANGE. 

bery was added to murder. The victims were first tor- 
tured to confess where their treasures were hidden, and 
then given over to be executed. 

Wilham, whose flight had arisen -from his apprehen- 
sion of danger to himself personally, rather than to the 
country at large, received tidings of this tragedy with 
feelings of the bitterest indignation. Rousing to arms 
the Princes of -Nassau, his brothers, he headed an army 
which, though raw and undisciplined, gallantly main- 
tained for years a desultory warfare with the Spaniards, 
but without much success. Alba, meantime, continued 
his barbarous system in the Netherlands, out of which 
he vaunted that he could extract more gold than Peru. 
His victims amounted to upwards of 18,000, and the 
country roads were poisoned with the efEuvia of the car- 
casses which rotted on the gallows. After a short pause, 
the war was renewed with vigor in 1572, when Egmont's 
friend, the Count von Lumay, who had vowed not to 
comb or cut his hair till he had avenged the murder, 
captured a Spanish fleet, and the town of Briel. This 
success encouraged the citizens of the chief towns of 
Holland to throw off the Spanish yoke. The Southern 
Netherlands also revolted, and Louis of Nassau, by a 
sudden surprise, captured and garrisoned the town of 
Mons. It having been besieged by the Spaniards, Wil- 
liam, who had raised a German army, marched to its 
defence. He failed, however, in relieving it, and a noc- 
turnal attack of the enemy on his camp was nearly fatal 
to him. 

A band of 600 arquebusiers, led by a knight named 
Romero, entered the Dutch camp by stealth, cut down 



N /7 




WILLIAM THE FIRST OF ORANGE. 313 

the sentinels, and made for William's tent. His guards 
were all asleep, save one, and that a little spaniel, which 
lay upon his bed. At the sound of intruding steps it 
barked angrily, and woke its master by scratching his 
face with its paws. He leaped up just in time to mount 
his horse, Avliich was kept saddled, and escape into the 
night. His secretaries, steward, and servants, were all 
too late, and fell by the weapons of their assailants. The 
camp was burnt, and soon afterwards William was forced 
to retreat. To the day of its death he kept the spaniel 
in his bedroom. The figure of this faithful creature is 
sculptured on his tomb. 

Alba marched against MechHn, captured, and plun- 
dered it, — massacring the citizens. His son Frederick, 
after outrivalling his father in barbarity at Zutphen, ad- 
vanced on Naarden, where he persuaded the inhabitants 
to capitulate under promise of safety, and then murdered 
them. Haarlem held out for a whole winter, — a troop 
of 300 women being foremost in the ranks of the garri- 
son. William marched to its relief, but in vain ; and it 
capitulated by stress of famine in 1578. Frederick's 
revenge for the loss of his men in the siege was among 
the most horrible events of this war. After beheading so 
many that his executioners could not work from fatigue, 
hundreds of victims were tied back to back, and cast into 
the sea. At Altmaar, however, he was worsted through 
the brave defence of its men and women. At the same 
time the Netherlanders were victorious at sea, and cap- 
tured the Spanish fleet. 

Alba's tyranny having failed to secure success to Phil- 
ip's designs, a more merciful governor, named Requesens, 
14 



314 WILLIAM THE FIRST OF ORANGE. 

was substituted in 1574, but without effect. The Dutch 
no longer beheved in Philip, and maintained hostihties. 
Two of William's brothers fell in an engagement near 
Nimuegen, in the same year ; but the Spaniards met with 
a signal disaster at the siege of Ley den, in 1575. The 
city was blockaded on all sides, and a fleet wliich was 
sent to its assistance was unable to land its troops. 6,000 
citizens are said to have died of famine. In this emer- 
gency, WilHam suggested the desperate expedient of cut- 
ting the dykes — which here, as elsewhere throughout 
Holland, communicated from the city to the sea — and 
letting in the water upon the land. The people assented 
with the cry, " Better to spoil than to lose ! " The dykes 
were cut through, and the tide flowed in under the favor- 
ing influence of a northwest wind, — filling the Spanish 
trenches, and bearing upon its surface the Dutch vessels. 
The Spaniards fled, and 1,500 were drowned or slain in 
the pursuit. The starving citizens were relieved with 
provisions, and Leyden was saved. Its University was 
erected in memory of this great deliverance. 

Spain was now severely punished for her tyranny, and 
the finances of the country were at the lowest ebb. The 
soldiers were unpaid and mutinous, but revenged them- 
selves by pillaging the Flemish cities. At Ghent, which 
they had previously treated less severely on account of 
its taking little part in the revolt, an attempted assault 
in 1576 led to a revolution, and the admission of a gar- 
rison sent by William's orders. The sack of Antwerp, 
in the same year, where 5,000 citizens were massacred, 
completed the catalogue of Spanish crimes. William took 
advantage of the hatred excited by these events to pro- 



WILLIAM THE FIRST OF ORANGE. 315 

mote a spii-it of union among the Netlierlanders. This aun 
was crowned with success at Ghent, in November, 1576. 
A new commander, sent out at this time by Phihp, — his 
natural brother, Don Juan, — was forced to acknowledge 
the union, but consented only in appearance. He stirred 
up jealousies among the other nobles against William ; 
but that wise and unselfish leader defeated the scheme by 
voluntarily surrendering the prominent position which 
the course of events had given him. Don Juan's treach- 
erous dealings were discovered, and the Flemings, by 
William's advice, invited the Archduke Matthias, son of 
the Emperor Maximilian II., to take command of their 
army. The object that William had in view, in taking 
this step, was to unite the country with Germany against 
Spain. Ghent was recaptured by the people from the 
hands of a partisan of Don Juan, who had seized it ; but 
the Protestants sullied their success, and lost favor by 
their cruel persecution of their Catholic opponents. In 
1578, the young Duke of Parma (Phili23's nephew) 
headed the Spanish forces, and defeated the Dutch at 
Gemblours. This loss excited fresh disunion in the Prot- 
estant party ; and the interference of the Due dAnjou, 
brother of Henry III. of France, with a hope of obtain- 
ing the government, added to the confusion. William 
appeared once more as the genius of harmony, calming 
the turbulence of the Ghentese bigots and demagogues, 
and restoring order, in December, 1578. The Duke of 
Parma, however, and the Catholics, still retained a hold 
on the Southern provinces, and prevented their alliance 
with the Northern Netherlands. The union, so long 
advocated by WiUiam, was finally adopted by the seven 



316 WILLIAM THE FIRST OF ORANGE. 

provinces composing the latter, which, in January, 1579, 
by the League of Utrecht, renounced their allegiance to 
Spain, and formed a republic, over which William was 
placed as Stadtholder-General. 

In Flanders the Spaniards carried on the war- success- 
fully, capturing Dunkirk, Maestricht, and MechUn, among 
other places. Enraged at the revolt of the Northern 
Netherlands, Philip issued a manifesto, ascribing the 
cause to William's intrigues, setting a price of 25,000 
ducats on his head, and promising to ennoble his assassin. 
William, nevertheless, held on his course, appeasing the 
disturbances at Ghent in 1580, and procuring its adhe- 
sion, with that of Bruges, to the League of Utrecht. 
The Archduke Matthias had already withdi-awn, and the 
Due d'Anjou been expelled from the government of the 
Flemish councils. An attempt was made on William's 
life, in 1581, by a French assassin, anxious to win the 
reward promised by Philip ; but the wound inflicted by 
the shot was, happily, not mortal. The intrigues of the 
Duke of Parma to dissever the alhance of Ghent and 
Bruges with the new republic were carried on with great 
ability, and, unfortunately, with success ; both admitting 
a Spanish garrison in 1584. This event defeated the 
wise policy which WilHam had so steadily pursued, and 
originated that separation which, after many attempts at 
union, still exists between the Northern and the Southern 
Netherlands, now known as Holland and Belgium. 

On the 10th of July, 1584, another assassin, named 
Gerard, stimulated by the bribe of Phihp II., accom- 
plished the murder of the good Stadtholder. Wilham 
was at Delft, whither Gerard proceeded with despatches. 



WILLIAM THE FIRST OF OEANGE. 317 

and representing himself as in want of money, was gen- 
erously relieved. With the money was bought the pistol 
with which his benefactor was shot. The Prince had 
just left the dinner-table, and was passing through a ves- 
tibule which opened on the street, when the murderer, 
who had concealed himself in a sunken arch by the door, 
suddenly stepped forward, and pulled the trigger. The 
Prince fell back, with three poisoned balls in his breast. 
" God have mercy upon me and upon this poor nation ! " 
was his last prayer. His death followed in a few minutes. 
The murderer was seized and put to death ; Philip ful- 
filling his vile promise, by ennobling the Gerard family 
with the title, " Destroyer of Tyrants ! " — a name which 
the juster Muse of history will rather bestow upon the 
victim. Thus, in the vigor of his days, perished this 
wise and manly prince. As the Liberator of Holland, 
William deserves the aflPection with which his name is 
still regarded. Though not free from faults, for which his 
bad political education must be mainly held responsible, 
his career is yet eminently remai'kable as an example of 
high-minded and unselfish policy. To the subsequent ex- 
ertions of his son, Maurice, must be ascribed the military 
success of the RepubUc ; but to William it owed its firm 
foundation of political and reUgious freedom. 



Peiirg lijt Jfflm-t^ of Jfmiite. 

THE WARS OF THE LEAGUE AND THE HUGUENOTS. 

The most important events in the history of France, 
during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, were the 
EngHsh wars, and the triumph of the kingly over the 
aristocratic power. With the particulars of the former, 
from the defeat of PhiUp VI. to the success of Charles 
VII., every English reader may be supposed to be 
familiar. The conquest of feudahsm is due to the ability 
of Louis XL, who, by his minute but perpetual encroach- 
ments on the rights of the nobles, his subtle and perfidi- 
ous intrigues in their councils, and his ferocious punish- 
ment of their rebelHons, achieved their fall ; and, though 
by the worst means, and with the most selfish intention, 
attained the desirable result of strengthening the popular 
power, as well as his own. The Italian invasions of 
Charles VIIL, Louis XII., and Francis I., which have 
already been noticed, ushered in the sixteenth century, 
the leading event of which in France was the religious 
war between the Catholic Church and the Protestant 
Reformers. 

The origin of hostilities was the cruel persecutions of 
the Protestants of Provence by Francis I., in 1535 and 
1546. He at the same time threw doubt upon the sm- 



HENEY IV. OF FRANCE. 319 

cerity of his zeal, by supporting the Lutheran princes 
of Germany, who were leagued against the Emperor 
Charles V. Henry II., who succeeded Francis in 1547, 
was equally inconsistent, — publishing barbarous edicts 
against his own subjects, and yet aiding their rehgious 
brethren in Germany. His wife, Catherine dei Medici 
(a member of the great Florentine family), who, after his 
death in 1559, ruled over France, in the names of her 
sons, Francis 11. and Charles IX., is the Catholic heroine 
of these religious wars. Henry IV. is the Protestant 
hero. 

He was the son of Antoine de Bourbon, Due de Ven- 
dome, a prince of the blood royal (through his ancestor, 
Robert, son of Louis IX.), who married Jeanne d'Albret, 
heiress of the King of Navarre, and in 1535 became 
king in her right. Henry was born in 1553, at the 
beautiful town of Pau, in the Beam. In the seclusion 
of his native province, trained to natural and simple 
enjoyments, and unspoilt by the flatteries and vices of a 
court life, Henry was brought up under the care of his 
mother, a sensible and devout adherent of the system of 
the Reformer, Calvin. His father, Antoine, in virtue 
rather of his rank than of his talents, was regarded as one 
of the leaders of a political party which opposed that of 
the Queen-mother, Catherine dei Medici, and her sharers 
in the government, Francis Due de Guise, and his brother, 
the Cardinal de Lorraine. The perfidy of Catherine and 
the ambitioii of the Guises created a strong hatred against 
them amongst the French nobles, and the barbarity of 
the persecutions, which were sanctioned by the govern- 
ment, incited the Protestants to ally themselves with the 
opposition. 



320 HENRY IV. OF FEANCE. 

In 1560 was formed the famous Conspiracy of Am- 
boise, in which the King of Navarre, his brother, the 
Prince de Conde, and the Admiral de Cohgny, were said 
to be implicated, among other Protestant leaders. Its 
object was to crush the Guises, from whose custody the 
King (Francis II.) was to be forcibly removed. The 
plot was betrayed, and failed of success, — the result 
being a cruel slaughter of the Protestants. The King of 
Navarre was threatened with death, and his brother was 
even condemned, though subsequently released. The 
death of Francis II. in the same year, and the accession 
of his brother, Charles IX., a child of ten years old, 
somewhat altered the aspect of affairs. , Catherine be- 
came Pegent of the kingdom, and henceforth the influ- 
ence of the Guises, and that of the Crown, no longer 
weighted the same scale. The Queen, from political, not 
religious motives, began to lean to the side of the Prot- 
estants, — liberating Conde, and making the King of 
Navarre Lieutenant-general of France. The Guises, on 
the other hand, alUed themselves with Phillip II. of 
Spain, the most bigoted champion of Catholicism in 
Europe. 

After an ineffectual edict, in 1561, which served to 
exasperate, while professing to benefit, the Protestant 
party, and a theological congress, which also came to no 
result, the wise Chancellor of the kingdom, Michel de 
I'Hopital, mediated between the factions, by obtaining a 
new edict in 1562. Toleration was thereby accorded to 
the Reformed congregations, the members of which may 
henceforth be spoken of under their common (though 
unexplained) name of Huguenots. The peace was short. 



HENEY IV. OF FRANCE. 321 

owing to the fickleness of the King of Navarre, who was 
won over to the Guise side by the promise of Sardinia, 
as a gift from Philip II. The unprovoked attack of the 
Due de Guise on a small Protestant congregation in 
Champagne, opened the war. The Queen in vain at- 
tempted to join Conde, who now headed the Reformers. 
The young King was seized by the Guises, and she fol- 
lowed him to Paris. The Catholics, under the fanati- 
cal Constable de Montmorency, carried fire and sword 
into the Protestant provinces and towns ; while Conde 
and Coligny, who headed the Huguenots, carried on the 
work of attack and devastation in an opposing direction. 
Antoine of Navarre, who besieged Rouen in the Catholic 
interest, in 1562, was slain in the assault; leaving Henry, 
still a child, to succeed him on the throne. 

The battle of Dreux, in Normandy, was fought in the 
same year. The issue to both sides was singularly equal : 
the Catholics, under the Constable de Montmorency, and 
the Marshal de Saint Andre, being defeated, — the former 
general being taken prisoner, and the latter killed, — 
while the Huguenots, under Conde, were routed by a 
vigorous charge of the Due de Guise, their leader falhng 
into the hands of the victors. The Guises seemed tri- 
umphant ; but their success was suddenly terminated in 
the following year, at the siege of Orleans, where the 
Duke, who commanded the besiegers, was assassinated 
by a Huguenot named Poltrot. The assassin, when put 
to the torture, accused Coligny of havuig instigated the 
crime, — a charge which, however unfounded, was be- 
lieved by the son of the murdered man, Henry, now 
Due de Guise, who headed the Catholic party. A treaty 
14* u 



322 HENRY IV. OF FRANCE. 

of peace and toleration was made in the same year be- 
tween Catherine, as CathoHc Regent of the kingdom, 
and the Huguenots; but there was no sufficient guar- 
antee for its observance. 

The Queen allied herself with Philip II., and took 
counsel with his minister, the Duke of Alba, whom we 
have seen an unrelenting persecutor of the Reformed 
party. She also took a tour throughout France, accom- 
panied by the young IGng, with the object of ascertaining 
the condition of the Huguenot interest. The real char- 
acter of this crafty woman was soon exhibited, and 
Conde summoned the Huguenots to arms in 1567. An 
attempt to seize the person of the King was unsuccessful ; 
and at the battle of St. Denis the Catholics obtained a 
partial advantage, though losing their general, the stal- 
wart old waiTior, Montmorency, who fell, at the age of 
seventy-four, covered with wounds. A truce was patched 
up, but was soon broken, and Catherine lent herself to 
the perpetration of the most horrible barbarities upon 
the Huguenots, who retaliated, and the land was del- 
uged in blood. 

Henry, now IGng of Navarre, after having spent his 
early youth m Beam, was sent to the French Court for 
a few years, but was recalled by his mother in 1566, 
soon after she had been proclaimed a heretic, and de- 
clared to be deposed, by a Papal bull fulminated against 
her. Though quite young, he showed such ability and 
courage that he was permitted to join the Huguenot 
army, of which his uncle, the gallant Conde, was now 
chief. Henry was first engaged at the battle of Jarnac, 
in 1569. Here the Huguenots were taken at a fearful 



HENKY IV. OF FEAl^CE. 323 

disadvantage by the Catholics, under the nominal lead- 
ership of the Due d'Anjou, brother of Charles IX. 
Conde's arm was in a sHng, and his leg was broken by 
a kick from liis horse ; but he mounted afresh, harangued 
his troops, and maintained a desperate fight for some 
hours. At last he was forced to surrender, but made a 
promise of his life the condition. He was carried from 
his horse, and placed on the ground, when a captain of 
the Royal Guard suddenly came behind him, and shot 
him through the head. This loss was a terrible blow to 
the Huguenot party, which now turned to Henry of Na- 
varre as the hope of its cause. The good Jeanne stimu- 
lated its activity by her courageous conduct. At Cognac, 
in Anjoumois, she joined the defeated army, accompanied 
by Henry and her nephew, the son of the lamented 
Conde. Before a large assembly, she stepped forth, 
holding a hand of each prince. " I offer you," she said 
to the soldiers, " my son, and confide to you the son of 
the prince for whom we grieve." Henry then addressed 
them with the words : " I swear to defend our common 
religion, and maintain our common cause, till death or 
victory shall secure to us all the freedom for which we 
fight," The enthusiastic shouts of the army were a fit- 
tmg acceptance of the Queen's offer, and he was at once 
proclaimed General-in-command. Owing to his youth, 
however, Coligny exercised the duties of that post. The 
battle of Roche-Abeille soon followed, in which the 
Huguenots were victorious, and the young King greatly 
distinguished himself But at the battle of Moncontour 
the Catholics gained sufficient advantage to induce Co- 
ligny to desire peace. A treaty was thereupon signed at 
St. Germain in 1570. 



324 HENRY IV. OF FEANGE. 

As a pledge of peace and order, Catherine and her 
son, Charles IX., now of age to rule by himself, invited 
the leading Huguenots to court. The Queen of Navarre, 
Plenrj, and his cousin, accordingly accompanied Coligny 
to Paris. They were received with apparent cordiahty 
by Charles and his mother; and a marriage was soon 
proposed between Henry and the King's sister, Margaret 
of Yalois. The Pope at first opposed the match ; but 
after an interview with Charles, the legate forbore further 
remonstrance. He was secretly assured that the union 
of a Catholic princess to a heretic would never have been 
proposed but as a cloak of treachery. The princess 
herself was averse to the marriage, having, it was said, 
bestowed her affection on the Due de Guise, but was 
forced to yield by her imperious mother. During the 
preparations, Jeanne of Navarre died, as some thought, 
by poison, but probably from natural causes only. The 
marriage w^as celebrated on the 18th of August, 1572, 
and the court was a scene of festivities of every descrip- 
tion. But under the mask of gayety was concealed the 
most atrocious perfidy. The Huguenots were invited to 
Paris in great numbers, while, at the same time, the Cath- 
olics were armed and prepared. On the 2 2d of August, 
an attempt was made upon the life of the old Admiral 
Coligny, by the mstigation of Catherine ; but the assassin 
only wounded him. Charles at once hastened with his 
mother to the house of their victim, with the loudest 
expressions of condolence and indignation. A guard 
was sent for liis protection ; and, under pretence of pre- 
venting the escape of the assassin, the city gates were 
shut, so that no Huguenots might be spared. On the 



HENKY IV. OF FRANCE. 325 

23d of August a gi'eat consultation was held at the 
Tuileries Palace, between Catherine, her son Henry 
(Due d'Anjou), and the leading Catholic chiefs. The 
final arrangements were then made for the intended trag- 
edy of the following day, which was nothing less than 
the massacre of all the Huguenots in Paris and other 
cities. The sound of the tocsin, or great bell of the 
palace, was to be the signal for the Swiss Guards of the 
King, and the miHtia of the city, to set upon their vic- 
tims. A white cross in the hat, and a scarf on the left 
arm, were to be the tokens of recognition among the 
Catholics. As the appointed hour approached on St. 
Bartholomew's day, Charles, who was not wholly har- 
dened in crime, displayed striking evidences of agitation, 
— trembling in every limb, and perspiring at every pore. 
Catherine, an adept in villany, and her worthy accom- 
plice and son, the young Due d'Anjou, had great diffi- 
culty in extracting a command for the massacre to begin ; 
but, on obtaining it, anticipated the signal by ordering 
the bell of St. Germain I'Auxerrois to be rung at day- 
break. The death-note sounded, and the city was filled 
with armed soldiers. The Due de Guise, whose adhe- 
sion to the plot arose mainly out of hatred to Coligny, 
the supposed murderer of his father, headed a troop, and 
marched to the Admiral's house. The old man was in 
his bedchamber at prayer, and lay disabled by his recent 
wounds. The leader of the band, a German named 
Besme, ascended the stairs, and entered the room. " Art 
thou Cohgny ? " he demanded of the Admii'al. " I am 
he," was the answer. " Respect my gray hairs, young 
man ! " A mortal wound was the reply, and the muti- 



326 HENEY IV. OF FRANCE. 

lated body was thrown into the street, where the Duke 
awaited it. The head was cut off and sent to the Queen, 
while the body was first gibbeted, and then burnt. Dur- 
ing the enactment of this scene, the miserable Huguenots 
throughout Paris had been aroused from slumber, and 
driven half-naked into the streets to be murdered by the 
soldiery. The leaders of the Catholic party presided 
over the butchery, — Charles, who soon recovered from 
his fit of remorse, actually firing from liis palace window 
upon the flying Huguenots, and Catherine with her ladies 
looking down upon the bodies which were piled up in the 
court. The massacre was continued for three days in 
Paris, where 5,000 persons of all ranks are said to have 
perished. In Orleans, Lyons, Rouen, and other cities, 
the same scenes were transacted, — the governors of a 
few towns only refusing to stain their consciences with 
such a crime. Some Catholics also in Paris hazarded 
their lives to save those of their Huguenot friends, and 
from motives of policy a few of the heretical party were 
omitted from the massacre. Amongst the latter were 
Henry of Navarre, and his cousin, the Prince de Conde. 
During the three days, they were shut up in the Louvre, 
and were adjured, both by promises and threats, to change 
their creed. " Death or the mass " were the alternatives 
at last presented to them by Charles. With a weakness 
that would have been less culpable, had it been an excep- 
tional instance, Henry yielded, and his cousin followed 
the example. They were, nevertheless, watched closely, 
lest they should escape from Paris. 

The tragedy of St. Bartholomew, applauded at Rome 
by Pope Gregory XIII. as an act of Divine vengeance, 



HENRY IV. OF FRANCE. 327 

and regarded by Catherine and her son as the security of 
their rule, was execrated by the Protestant powers abroad, 
and m France had the effect of exasperating the Hugue- 
nots to a more determined resistance. The civil war 
recommenced; Rochelle, where the Protestants predomi- 
nated, holding out successfully for six months against the 
assaults of the Due d'Anjou, who enforced Henry and 
Conde to accompany the army. Nismes and other places 
were still held by the Huguenots, and they at length 
agreed to a treaty of peace, on favorable terms to them- 
selves. A plot to deUver the Navarrese princes, who 
managed to make known their forced abjuration of Prot- 
estantism, was soon after set on foot. It was carried into 
execution during the Carnival, and the Prince de Conde 
succeeded in making his escape ; but Henry was less for- 
tunate, and was closely guarded till the death of Charles 
IX. This event, which was hastened by the pangs of 
remorse for his shai-e in the massacre, took place in May, 
1574, when he was at the age of twenty-four. His 
brother, the Due d'Anjou, who had recently accepted the 
kingdom of Poland, hastened to return, and succeeded 
him, by the title of Henry III. 

One of the first events of his reign was the outbreak 
of a new religious war ; commenced by the Huguenots, 
in then- natural mistrust of a king who had been a chief 
actor in the tragedy of St. Bartholomew. Conde headed 
the army, and w^on over several nobles to his side. The 
cause soon received a distinguished, but worthless ad- 
herent, in the person of the King's brother, the Due 
d'Alen5on, who was jealous of his mother's partiahty for 
Henry HI. And in February, 1576, the young hero of 



328 HENKY IV. OF FRANCE. 

tlie Huguenots himself escaped from his splendid captiv- 
ity, and the vicious influences with which Catherine had 
surrounded him. At the Protestant camp, he formally 
abjured the faith wliich a fear of death had alone led him 
to adopt. His wife remained at the French Court, where 
her dissolute life dishonored the reputation of his house, 
and worthily fulfilled that of her own. Fortified by the 
assistance of the Elector-Palatine with a strong force, the 
Huguenots compelled Henry IH. to deliver up to them 
six towns, and agree to a truce. By this weakness he 
lost the regard of the CathoHc party, and obHterated the 
memory of the pious vengeance which he had helped to 
wreak on the heretics. His scandalous and frivolous 
mode of spending his time at Paris, moreover, proved 
him unfit for the throne which he had just been called 
upon to fill. Catherine, by her able policy, endeavored 
to supply the deficiencies of his government, and, by 
means of her ladies, intrigued to create a division in the 
Huguenot camp. She succeeded in winning back the 
Due d'AlenQon, her son, (who took the title of Due d'An- 
jou,) and procured the cessation of active hostilities on 
the part of the other leaders. Meantime a new and for- 
midable party had arisen in the Cathohc ranks. A union 
of the sternest bigots was formed in defence of the faith, 
under the title of " the League of the Holy Trinity." Its 
avowed objects were the protection of the Church and the 
Crown, and the annihilation of the Protestants ; but the 
chief Leaguers also secretly purposed to punish the Due 
d'Anjou for his late perversion, and to depose Henry IH. 
in favor of the Due de Guise, whose asserted descent 
from Charlemagne was considered superior to the preten- 



HENRY IV. OF FRANCE. 329 

sions of the house of Capet. The Due himself was Gen- 
eral of the League, which obtained the support of Pope 
Gregory XIII. and Philip II. of Spain. In 1576 Henry 
III., having become aware of the nature of this plot, 
awoke to some sense of his dangerous position. He frus- 
trated the ambition of the Due by himself assuming the 
generalship of the League. Guise so far yielded, for the 
sake of their common cause, as to lead an army against 
the Huguenots. The fortune of the campaign leaned to 
the side of the Catholics, but peace was made in 1577, 
whereby full toleration was accorded to their opponents. 

"War broke out again in 1580, owing to the inti-igues 
of the despicable King, who endeavored to separate Henry 
of Navarre from his wife. The attempt failed, and Na- 
varre, by a rapid and gallant attack on the town of Ca- 
hors, possessed himself of it as a guarantee for the King's 
good faith. The Due d'Anjou, who had designs on the 
county of Flanders, which was offered him by the Flem- 
ings, now in revolt against Phihp II. of Spain, interfered 
to make peace between his brother and the Huguenots, 
of whose troops he was in need. After a partial success, 
his tyranny incited the Flemings to banish him, and he 
died of shame and rage in 1584. By his death Henry 
of NavaiTe became heir to the throne. The fear of a 
Huguenot's shortly succeeding the childless Henry III. 
renewed the activity of the League. Under the cloak of 
supporting the claims of the Cardinal de Bourbon, uncle 
of Henry of Navarre, as heir to the throne, the Due de 
Guise, instigated by Phihp II., with whom he made a 
treaty of alliance, aroused the partisans of the League 
throughout France. Henry HI., forced by the menaces 



330 HENRY IV. OF FRANCE. 

of the people, who clamored for war, became reconciled 
to Guise, and violated his pledge of toleration to the Hu- 
guenots. The eighth war accordingly broke out in 1584, 
and was known from the Christian names of the King, 
Navarre, and Guise, as " the War of the three Henries." 
The ability of our hero now showed itself. Aided by 
Conde, Rosni, and other valiant leaders, he raised a 
powerful army ; and, thus fortified, endeavored to avoid 
bloodshed, by first proposing an assembly of the States, 
and then a single combat between himself and a Catholic 
champion, as modes of deciding the dispute. His efforts 
faihng, he carried on the war with amazing vigor and 
speed. Languedoc and Guienne were rapidly subdued, 
and he then gave battle to the royal army under the Due 
de Joyeuse, in October, 1587. The combatants met at 
Coutras, in Perigord. When his troops were drawn up 
in order of battle, Henry advanced in the centre, and 
ordering them to kneel with him, prayed for the help of 
God. After a spirited address to his men he turned to 
Conde and his other cousins, reminding them of their 
Bourbon blood, and promising to prove himself a worthy 
chief of the family. The signal for battle was then 
given, and by their resistless charges the Huguenots com- 
pletely destroyed the Catholic army, — Joyeuse fiilling in 
the engagement. Henry's conduct after the victory was 
eminently humane. This success was considerably dam- 
aged by the subsequent loss of a large German force, 
which, in marching to join the Huguenots, was cut up by 
Guise. In the next year, the death of the pious and 
manly Conde, by poison, was another serious blow to the 
Protestant cause. 



HENKY IV. OF FEANCE. 331 

The Leaguers soon made themselves so obnoxious to 
Heniy III., who only desired means of indulging his 
paltry and licentious tastes, and took little heed to the 
government, that he determined to ally himself with 
Henry of Navarre, and break with Guise. This power- 
ful noble was, meantime, securing a vantage-ground in 
the affection of the people. The " Sixteen," or Municipal 
Council of Paris, were also in his interest. Plots vrere 
formed with the view of deposing the King, who, how- 
ever, obtained an insight into their design through his 
spies. He at last, in the spring of 1588, sent an order to 
Guise not to enter Paris. This was sufficient to deter- 
mine the popular favorite on defying his sovereign. He 
entered the city in May, amidst the enthusiastic shouts of 
an immense crowd. The King was obliged to yield, 
when urged to promise that he would declare war against 
the Huguenots, and reform his Court. He endeavored 
to support his authority by means of a body of vSwiss ; 
but Guise summoned the citizens to his aid, and the Swiss 
were suddenly surrounded by enemies, and their retreat 
blocked up by barricades. When the King had been 
sufficiently humbled, Guise quieted his allies, and saved 
the Swiss ; but Henry, fearful of further violence, fled 
from the city. Guise, whom Catherine apparently sup- 
ported, now dictated his own terms to Henry, with whom 
he consented to be reconciled. An edict was obtained 
against the Huguenots, — Heniy of Navarre was disinher- 
ited, and Guise was named General-in-chief. The King 
concealed liis rage, and planned revenge. At a meeting 
of the States- General in December, 1588, Guise was 
present, and was treated by the councillors as the true 



332 HENRY IV. OF FKANCE. 

King of France. Henry professed the most cordial 
friendship for him, and they received the sacrament to- 
gether as a pledge of good faith. At that very time the 
plot of assassination had been arranged. A guardsman 
named Lognac, with nine others, had been instructed to 
set upon Guise with their poniards, at the moment of his 
attending the King on a false summons. In spite of re- 
peated warnings, the victim remained at court. On the 
23d of December, he was summoned to the Council, and 
obeyed ; but was refused entrance, and told that the 
King wanted to see him. He turned to enter the royal 
closet, when the assassins fell upon him. He gallantly 
resisted, but was stabbed to death with repeated strokes^ 
— the King, who immediately came in, trampling his 
enemy's body under foot. The Cardinal de Lorraine, the 
Duke's next brother, was then murdered in prison ; but 
the Dues de Mayenne and d'Aumale, two other brothers, 
were suffered to escape. They soon stirred up the peo- 
ple to revenge ; and Henry's neglect in securing Paris 
proved his ruin. Catherine dei Medici died at this junc- 
ture, — anxiety at the aspect of affairs having inflamed 
her illness. The new Pope, Sixtus V., united with the 
Guises, by refusing to absolve Henry from the murder. 
Mayenne was declared Lieutenant-general of the king- 
dom, and proceeded to invest Tours, where Henry had 
retired. The King turned, in his despair, to Navarre, 
whom he had just disinherited, and met with a gener- 
ous reception. The monarchs met in April, 1589, and 
agreed to reconcihation and alliance. Their united ar- 
mies of 38,000 men advanced to besiege Paris, which 
Mayenne was only able to defend with a small force. 



HENRY IV. OF FRANCE. 333 

An unlooked-for event changed the position of affairs. A 
fanatical monk named Jacques Clement, instigated by the 
Duchesse de Montpensier, sister of the murdered Due, 
obtained admission into the King's room, under the pre- 
text of presenting a petition. Clement delivered the 
paper with one hand, and stabbed the King with the 
other. Henry pulled out the knife, and struck at his as- 
sailant, who was soon slain by the guards ; but his own 
wound was mortal : and after sending for the King of 
Navarre, whom he named as his successor, and urging 
him to abjure the Huguenot tenets, he expired in his 
arms. 

Henr}^ of Navarre, now Henry IV. of France, by 
right of descent, and the choice of his predecessor, had 
yet to win the confirming votes of the nobles and the peo- 
ple. The task was scarcely feasible, to all appearance. 
As a Huguenot, he had to contend against the Pope, the 
League, and the influence of Philip 11. ; and as a mem- 
ber of the house of Capet, against the pretensions of the 
Guises. His army was greatly reduced on the late 
King's death, by the withdrawal of nine regiments and a 
large body of knights ; and finding it inadequate to sus- 
tain the siege of Paris, he retired to Normandy. Thither 
Mayenne, the eldest surviving member of the Guise 
family, who declared himself the general of the Cardinal 
de Bourbon, prepared to follow. The Cardinal was, in 
reality, Henry's prisoner at Tours ; but it was convenient 
for the Guises to make him a tool, and they accordingly 
proclaimed him King, as Charles X. The enthusiasm of 
the people at the murder of Henry IH. was immense. 
Jacques Clement was declared a martyr, and almost can- 



334 HENRY IV. OF FRANCE. 

onized ; while the utmost abuse was showered upon 
Heniy IV., both as a heretic, and an ally of the late king. 
Strong in the number of his army, which now amounted 
to 25,000 men, and in the support of the Catholic party, 
Mayenne gave out that he was going to capture " the 
Bearnese," as he contemptuously styled his opponent. 

Leaving Paris at the head of his army, the Due 
attacked Henry in his camp at Dieppe. The Huguenots 
mustered only 7,000 men, but gallantly sustained the 
assault ; and at last gave battle in the open field, near 
Argues, where they gained the day. Some flags having 
fallen into the hands of Mayenne, he sent them as tokens 
of victory to Paris, where the people celebrated a tri- 
umph. They were in the midst of the rejoicings when, 
by a sudden movement, Henry, who had been joined by 
a body of nobles, and an English force, marched to the 
capital, and seized upon the faubourgs, driving the citi- 
zens into the interior of the city. The faubourgs were 
pillaged for the use of the troops ; but the churches and 
monasteries were spared, and acts of violence kept in 
check. 

In Paris he found the Sixteen his most formidable 
opponents, having been bribed by Phillip II., with the 
hope of placing on the throne his daughter, Isabella, niece 
of the late king. Henry, perceiving that he could not 
retain Paris, left it for Normandy, part of which he sub- 
dued. Mayenne marched to meet him, and the two 
armies met in the plain of Ivry. Mayenne's troops were 
greatly superior in numbers ; but Henry did not hesitate 
to give battle, and would make no preparations for re- 
treatinsf. " Let there be none but the battle-field," was 



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HENEY IV. OF FRANCE. 335 

his reply, when these were suggested. At daybreak, the 
two armies were seen in order, on opposite sides ; — the 
white jackets and scarves of the Huguenots forming a 
striking contrast to the crimson badges of the CathoHcs. 
Advancing on horseback in complete armor, Henry bared 
his head, and prayed aloud in the presence of all : " O 
Lord, thou knowest my secret thoughts : if it be good for 
my people that I should reign, defend thou my cause, and 
prosper my arms ! " Then putting on his helmet, above 
which a large feather nodded in the breeze, he cried to 
his men : " My children ! should you lose sight of our 
standards, follow my white plume ; it will be found 
always on the road to honor ! " Then, at his signal, the 
Huguenots shouted " Henry of Navarre ! " and charged. 
The Catholics gave way before the desperate onset, and 
were slaughtered by thousands, — the whole army being 
broken up. Henry at once marched on the capital, which 
he blockaded. Famine and pestilence committed terrible 
ravages among the citizens, and his generous heart was 
deeply moved at the spectacle. He refused to take the 
city by assault, — spared the lives of all who threw 
themselves on his mercy, and even allowed provisions to 
be secretly introduced. Meantime, Mayenne had ob- 
tained the assistance of Alexander Farnese, Duke of 
Parma, one of the most emment generals of Phillip II., 
and forced Henry to raise the siege in August, 1590. 
Discussions among the Leaguers divided their interests, 
but Henry's cause was still unpopular. The war was 
carried on with vigor. Rouen was besieged by the 
Huguenots in 1591, but reheved by the Duke of Parma. 
At the battle of Aumale, Henry was defeated and 



336 HENKY IV. OF FRANCE. 

wounded ; but, by a series of daring stratagems, he re- 
covered his loss, and hemmed in the army of the League 
between his own, the sea, and the river Seine. The 
Duke of Parma, in this dilemma, performed the brilhant 
exploit of buildmg a bridge over the Seine in a single 
night, — May 22, 1592, — crossed with his ai^my, and 
escaped. He died of fever in the winter of the same 
year. 

In 1593 the States- General met at Paris to elect a 
king. Harassed by the difficulties of his position, of 
which the principal arose from his profession of the Re- 
formed faith, Henry, whose attachment to it had always 
been lukewarm, began to think seriously of renouncing it. 
What decided him on taking this step was the proposal 
made by Philip II. of Spain to ally his daughter to a 
French noble, if she were elected Queen. This election, 
however, as contrary to the Salic law, had its Catholic 
opponents, especially in the Parliament ; and when Henry 
ofi^ered to abjure his faith, a strong party was formed in 
his favor. Mayenne withstood him but feebly, and the 
people refused to obey an order which was issued to for- 
bid their witnessing the ceremony of Henry's abjuration, 
which took place at St. Denis, on the 25th July, 1593. 

This act can only be palliated by the consideration 
that, to a man of Henry's practical bent and liberal sen- 
timents, a change of faith was much less a matter of con- 
science than of expediency. There can be no doubt that 
he was actuated in a great measure by private ambition, 
but he may also be fairly credited with the desire of 
avoiding further bloodshed. It is a striking proof of his 
personal popularity, that his adherents were so little of- 



HENEY rV. OF FEANCE. 337 

fended at what in another would have been considered 
an act of shameful treachery. The Pope still refused 
him absolution ; and Mayenne took occasion to announce 
this as a fatal barrier to Hemy's election. The Parlia- 
ment, and many of the people, thought otherwise, and 
Mayenne quitted Paris in the following year. Henry 
opened negotiations with the Comte de Brissac, governor 
of Paris, who deceived the League by his professions of 
zeal, and secretly arranged with the Mayor to deliver up 
the city. Henry entered it on the night of March 22, 

1594. A small body of Spanish troops only were put 
to the sword, the remainder yielding, and being dismissed 
next day. The King was received by his children, as he 
called the Parisians, with enthusiasm, and extended his 
generous forgiveness to all his enemies. War, however, 
still continued in other parts of France, the advantage 
steadily increasing on the Royal side. 

Mayenne, now relinquishing his claims as a Guise, took 
up the quarrel of the Infanta of Spain against Henry, 
but was defeated in a brilHant engagement at Fontaine- 
FrauQaise. The Pope's absolution being obtained in 

1595, all grounds for Mayenne's opposition were removed, 
and he acknowledged the new kinor as his master. 

The remainder of Henry's reign must be disposed of 
in a few lines. The war with Spain terminated by the 
peace of Vervins, in 1598, whereby all the fortresses 
which Philip II. had occupied were surrendered. In the 
same year Henry issued the famous Edict of Nantes, 
which secured the rights of Protestants in France, per- 
mitting them the exercise of their religion, the ministers 
of which were endowed by the State ; admitting them to 
15 V 



338 HENKY IV. OF FRANCE. 

all offices, and ordaining a chamber in each Parliament, 
composed of magistrates of both persuasions. Henry's 
course as a sovereign was not clear from serious diffi- 
culties, which he increased by his own errors. The un- 
ruly character of the nobility, which the late wars had 
encouraged, gave him much trouble. A pretext for re- 
volt was affi3rded them by a rash promise of marriage 
which he made to his mistress, Henriette d'Entragne, the 
daughter of one of their number. The conspiracy of the 
Marshal de Biron arose out of this affiiir. He was one 
of Hemy's ablest generals, and a man of great ambition. 
Bribed by the Duke of Savoy, he consented to command 
the army of that prince, and arouse France in favor of 
Henriette's son, against the pretensions of the Dauphin, 
son of Henry by his second wife, Maria dei Medici. The 
plot was betrayed to the King, who would have pardoned 
his rebel subject, had he consented to confess. Persist- 
ing in a denial, Biron was justly executed, in 1G02. 
Under his just and wise minister, Rosni (Due de Sully), 
Henry thorouglily reformed the whole system of French 
commerce, agriculture, military discipline, and ffiiance. 
Roads, bridges, and public buildings benefited and beau- 
tified the country and cliief cities. France was never so 
prosperous as under his rule. 

One fatal blot on Henry's scutcheon dishonored the 
close of his reign. Becoming enamored of the bride 
of the young Prince de Conde, his intemperate passion 
drove her and her husband to quit France, and seek pro- 
tection from Spain and Austi'ia. Blind to the injustice 
of the act, Henry declared war against both powers. 
Preparations were made for the campaign ; and the coro- 



HENKY IV. OF FKANCE. 339 

nation of the Queen was performed, in order to secure 
her authority as Regent during his absence. On the lith 
May, 1610, the day after this ceremony, the King went 
to visit Sully, who was indisposed. The royal carriage 
was stopped in a narrow street by two other vehicles, 
when a man named Kavaillac leapt upon the wheel, and 
plunged a knife twice into the King's breast, who died 
instantly. The assassin was a fanatical Catholic, who 
declared that his belief m the insincerity of Henry's ab- 
juration of Protestantism was the motive for the ci-ime. 
He was put to death with great cruelty ; but no torture 
seemed to the French nation sufficiently keen to expiate 
the crime of murdering such a king. The land was one 
great house of mourning. " We have lost our father ! " 
was the general lamentation. The verdict of posterity 
has confirmed the justice of that epithet. In painting the 
picture of this great man's life, the historic artist should 
never fail to make it evident how much the black shad- 
ows of tarnished honor and turbid passions are reheved 
by the brilliant light and warm coloring of justice, free- 
dom, and humanity. 



Winlkmkm, 

THE THIRTY TEARS* WAR. 

The conviction of tlie great founder of Christianity 
tliat he " came not to bring peace, but a sword," receives 
its completest justification in the history of Europe during 
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ignorant of the 
constitution of the human mind, and blind to the absurdity 
of attempting to enforce opinion, the adherents of the old 
and the reformed faith, during these two hundred years, 
scarcely sheathed their swords. The offenders, it is just 
to say, were generally, but by no means invariably, the 
CathoHcs ; and the retahation of the Protestants was 
seldom inferior in ferocity to the offence received. The 
"Thirty Years' War" was the bloodiest, as happily it 
was the last, scene in this great religious tragedy. The 
Catholic hero of this period was Wallenstein. 

After a term of peace, consequent oh the Diet of Augs- 
burg in 1555, which secured toleration to Protestantism 
in Germany, persecution recommenced in 1578, under 
the weak Emperor, Eudolph II. His cousin Ferdinand, 
Duke of Styria, a pupil of the Jesuits, was the most 
deadly foe of Protestantism, which had taken deepest 
root in Bohemia and Transylvania. The incapacity and 
bigotry of the Emperor at last provoked his subjects to 



WALLENSTEIN. 341 

bring about his deposition, and, in 1610, he was forced to 
abdicate in favor of his brother Matthias. He, though 
himself tolerant, unwisely committed the government to 
Ferdinand, whose tyranny in ordering the destruction of 
the Protestant churches in Bohemia led to the expulsion 
of his ofBcers, and the Jesuits, in May, 1618, and the 
commencement of the Thirty Years' War. Matthias 
died in the following year, and Ferdinand was elected 
EmjDcror. 

In 1619 the name of Wallenstein first became promi- 
nent. Albrecht von Waldstein, as he was properly called, 
was the third son of a Bohemian baron, of old family, and 
was born in September, 1583. As a boy, he displayed 
signs of a singularly proud and independent temper, and 
foreshowed his bent by the delight which he took in the 
society of military men. His family was Protestant ; but, 
having lost his parents when quite young, he was edu- 
cated, by the wish of his guardians, at the Jesuit college 
of Olmutz, and soon changed his faith. In Italy, where 
j he next studied, he made great advances in mathematics, 
law, languages, and the delusive science of astrology, in 
which he was a firm believer ever afterwards. On his 
return to Germany, he fought in the Imperial army 
against the Turks, who invaded Hungary. He had con- 
siderable estates in Bohemia, which were increased by 
his marriage, in 1606, with a rich Moravian widow, who 
died in 1614, and left him her property. In the peaceful 
occupation of farming he spent several years, and ac- 
quired great wealth by his skill and economy. In 1617, 
he took part in a campaign against the Republic (jf Ven- 
ice, with which Ferdinand had quarrelled, and, on the 



342 WALLENSTEIN. 

termination of the war in the same year, was ennobled as 
Count. The lavish generosity of Wallenstein during this 
war greatly endeared him to the army. 

Such was his popularity, that in 1619, on the Bohe- 
mian revolution breaking out, he was offered by the in- 
surgents the command of their army, although a Cathohc. 
But he steadily refused the offer, and warmly espoused 
the Imperial cause, upon which the Bohemians confis- 
cated his estates. He, however, soon retrieved his for- 
tunes by a second rich marriage, and the favor of the 
Emperor. The Bohemians, under their heroic leaders 
the Counts von Mansfeldt and Thurn, ventured to march 
upon Vienna, and threaten Ferdinand in his capital ; but 
Wallenstein, on the 10th of June, 1619, gained a signal 
victory over their army, and saved his master's throne. 
In the following year the Bohemians and Hungarians 
formally renounced their allegiance ; the former setting 
up Frederick, Elector- Count Palatine of the Rhine, as 
their king ; and the latter, Bethlem Gabor, Prince of 
Transylvania. Frederick, who was the son-in-law of our 
James J., was as unfit to govern as his father-in-law, and 
spent his time in a frivolous parade of his rank. He ob- 
tained but a doubtful support from the Protestant princes 
in Germany, who were jealous of his popularity. Ferdi- 
nand, assisted by Spain and other Catholic powers, sent 
a large force into Bohemia, under the command of Max- 
imilian, Duke of Bavaria, and totally routed Frederick's 
army at Prague, — the King fleeing to Breslau, and 
thence to Holland. The Palatinate was then declared 
forfeited to the Empire, and was devastated by the 
Spanish commander, Spinola. Wallenstein, daring this 



WALLENSTEIN. 343 

campaign, spent his treasures in the Imperial cause with 
the utmost readiness and hberaHty, and obtained as a 
reward the lordship of Friedland, which brought him a 
large revenue. To this he added by the purchase of 
several forfeited estates in Bohemia, and thus became 
possessed of immense wealth. In 1621-3 he distin- 
guished himself by defeating Bethlem Gabor, the new 
Ejng of Hungary, and forcing him to surrender his 
claim to the crown. For this service Wallenstem was 
created Duke of Friedland. 

A cruel persecution of the Protestants in Bohemia and 
Silesia dishonored the Emperor's success; and the at- 
tempt of his officers in Austria to suppress Lutheranism 
by force, produced a revolution in 1625. It was put 
down by the energy of Tilly and Pappenheim, two of the 
greatest generals of their day. The Count von Mans- 
feldt gallantly upheld the Protestant cause in Westphalia, 
and other parts of Germany, but was defeated by Tilly, 
who imposed Catholicism upon all the revolted provinces. 
In their despair the German Protestants api^lied for aid 
to their northern brethren. Gustavus Adolj^hus, the 
young and brave King of Sweden, an ardent champion 
of the Reformed faith, and Christian, King of Denmark, 
responded to the appeal, — the latter immediately invad- 
ing the Empire. The Imperial finances being considera- 
bly reduced by the war, Ferdinand was glad to avail him- 
self of an offer made at this crisis by Wallenstein, to levy 
an army at his own cost. This offer was abundantly ful- 
filled. In a few months an army of 30,000 men was col- 
lected, as if by magic. "Wallenstein was enviously sus- 
pected of bemg in league with the Devil ; but the secret 



344 WALLENSTEm. 

of liis sway was the fascination of his bold and generous 
nature. He maintained at once thorough toleration, and 
strict discipline in his ranks. These results, however, 
were not attained without injustice. Contributions were 
levied on the most fertile districts, as yet undesolated by 
war, to the extent, as it is said, of 60,000,000 dollars in 
seven years. His popularity with the army procured him 
the jealousy of Tilly, who, in the campaign of 1625-6, 
outrivalled him, by successfully combating the invasion 
of Christian and his Danish forces, and driving them be- 
yond the Elbe. Wallenstein, nevertheless, in the follow- 
ing campaign, won his laurels, both as a statesman and a 
general, by his intrigues and conquests. Displaying the 
greatest ardor in the cause of the Empire, he attempted 
to render it an absolute despotism. After routing Count 
Mansfeldt on the Elbe, he marched into Hungary, and 
defeated the united armies of the Count and Bethlem 
Gabor. Christian of Denmark having assembled a new 
army in 1628, Wallenstein marched to meet it; and, by 
a series of brilliant successes, recaptured all the towns 
garrisoned by the Danes, and forced the King to sue for 
peace. At the Congress of Lubeck, in May 1629, this 
was accorded on favorable terms to Denmark. Wallen- 
stein during these campaigns astonished his compeers, 
and excited their envy, by the wondrous rapidity of his 
movements, and the skill with which he surmounted diffi- 
culties that seemed insuperable. He was rewarded with 
the duchy of Mecklenburg, which was forfeited to the 
Empire by the treason of its former owner. 

The envious schemes of Tilly, and Maximilian, Duke 
of Bavaria, induced Ferdinand to remove Wallenstein 



WALLENSTEm. 345 

from his rank of commander in 1630. He had hardly 
withdrawn to his Bohemian estates, when Gustavus Adol- 
phus, who had been hitherto prevented from affording 
active assistance to the Protestant party, landed in Pom- 
erania with a small but highly disciplined army. This 
illustrious monarch, eminent for virtue and piety, no less 
than for political wisdom and military skill, was now the 
sole hope of the Reformation m Geinnany. The princes 
who professed its tenets were lukewarm and unready, — 
divided by jealousies |imong themselves, and careless of 
all but their own worldly interests. He, on the contraiy, 
was devoted to the cause of his faith, and his solemn dis- 
avowal of personal ambition in undertaking its champion- 
ship is stamped with sincerity. 

He soon commenced a career of conquest. New Bran- 
denburg and other districts yielded to his arms, and he 
formed an alliance with France, now under the sway of 
Cai'dinal Richelieu, which the Emperor had vainly nego- 
tiated to prevent. The rich city of Magdeburg declared 
for him, and was accordingly besieged by Tilly. The 
selfishness of the Lutheran leaders, the Electors of Bran- 
denburg and Saxony, in not responding to the appeal of 
the Protestants in the city, led to its fall in 1631, before 
Gustavus could reach it. The most atrocious cruelties 
were perpetrated by the Catholics at the sack ; no consid- 
eration of age or sex availing to prevent the massacre, 
which lasted for two ddys, and extended to 30,000 of the 
inhabitants. This monstrous crime was severely avenged 
by the indignant Gustavus. He forced the Electors of 
Brandenburg and Saxony to render him assistance, and, 
with an augmented army, hesitated not to give battle to 
15* 



346 WALLENSTEIN. 

Tilly at Leipzlc. The Swedes, though inferior in disci- 
pline, were far superior in spirit and enthusiasm to the 
Imperialists, and, by a judicious distribution of his forces, 
Gustavus outgeneralled the stratagems of Tilly. The 
Saxons were repulsed on one side, but, by a bold move- 
ment on the flank of their opponents, the Swedes cap- 
tured their artillery, and routed them with their own 
weapons. The disordered Imperialists were put to flight 
on the 7th of September, 1631. The Protestants took 
courage and joined Gustavus in great numbers. He 
continued his victorious march, defeating the enemy at 
Merseberg, capturing Wurzburg, then advancing on the 
Rhine, and reducing on the way Frankfort-on-the-Maine, 
Mentz, Spires, Mannheim, and other cities. He next 
turned to Bavaria, where Tilly and Maximihan en- 
trenched themselves at Rain-on-the-Lech. The former 
was killed by a cannon-ball during the siege, in 1632. 
Gustavus marched through Augsburg, where the citizens 
did him homage, and besieged Munich, which speedily 
surrendered. He now threatened to subdue Bavaria and 
Austria, when his progress was stopped from an unex- 
pected quarter. 

The Emperor, justly mistrusting the loyalty of Maxi- 
milian, who was in league with France, now saw himself 
deprived of his ablest generals, and felt his power failing. 
He turned to Wallenstein, as the only man who could 
save the Empire. That leader was meantime living in 
retirement, and secretly glad at the success of Gustavus. 
He refused at first to lake the command of the Imperial 
army, and only consented at last on condition of having 
sole and absolute authority, with the right of disposing as 



WALLENSTEIN. 347 

lie pleased of his conquests. These humiliating terms 
were accepted by Ferdinand, and in a few months after 
the death of Tilly, Wallenstein was in the field with a 
large and powerful army, raised, as before, by his own 
exertions. He drove the Saxons from Bohemia, and 
thence marched to Leipzic, which capitulated. At Nu- 
remberg, where Gustavus offered him battle, he wisely 
refused, and for three months the two camps remained 
close to each other, each general trying to exhaust the 
patience of his adversary, and relying on the destructive 
effects of famine and pestilence. Gustavus was forced to 
withdraw, after losing 20,000 men ; a yet heavier loss, 
nevertheless, having befallen "Wallenstein, whose numbers 
were better able to bear it. 

Gustavus marched southwards, but soon turned to 
attack Wallenstein, who had moved northwards, and was 
pillaging the neighborhood of Leipzic. The two armies 
met at Lutzen on the 6th of November, 1632. A dense 
fog shrouded the movements of each side from the other, 
and created a fearful confusion. Wallenstein ranged his 
infantry in squares, having a ditch in front, and flanked 
by his cavalry. Gustavus headed his men, and charged 
the enemy across the ditch. But his own infantry was 
borne down by the black cuirassiers of Wallenstein, and, 
as he turned to attack them, the thick fog concealed their 
approach. His horse was wounded, and he himself had 
his arm broken. In moving off the field he was shot in 
the back, and falling from the saddle was dragged in the 
stirrup. He fell into the hands of the cuirassiers, — one 
of whom, as the Swedes came up to the succor of their 
King, shot him through the head. His corpse was dis- 
covered after the battle, and honorably buried. The 



348 WALLENSTEIN. 

death of their king caused the deepest affliction to the 
Swedes, but aroused instead of enfeebhng their courage. 
A charge of the Duke of Weimar, one of the Protestant 
leaders, threw Wallenstein's infantry and cavahy into dis- 
order. An attempt of the ImperiaKst General Pappen- 
hemi, who now came up with a reserve to retrieve the 
battle, was for a time successful. But as the tide of for- 
tune seemed turning against the Swedes, a reserve of 
their own army made a last desperate charge, carried the 
ditch which protected Wallenstein's infantry, and won the 
day ; the ImperiaUsts fleeing in all du-ections, and their 
great leader escaping into Bohemia. 

This defeat was the death-blow to Wallenstein's for- 
tunate career. The Swedes continued to carry on the 
war successfully under the able minister of Gustavus, Ox- 
enstiern, and the vaUant . Duke of Weimar. Meantime 
Wallenstein, after some slight victories in Saxony and 
Silesia, remained inactive. He at the same time as- 
sumed an air of extreme pride and self-sufficiency, which 
exasperated his enemies, and gave occasion for their 
slanders. He was accused to Ferdinand of designing to 
seize the Empire, — a charge which seemed the more 
credible, on account of an offer having been made by 
France to assist him in obtaining the Bohemian crown. 
This proposition, however, he had firmly refused. The 
Emperor's intention of removing him from the command 
of the army having reached his ears, he declared he 
would resign, but was persuaded to remain by his offi- 
cers, who signed a promise of inviolable attachment to his 
person. This, too, was interpreted by his enemies as a 
conspiracy against the Emperor. His destruction was 
resolved on by the Duke of Bavaria, and others ; among 



WALLENSTEm. 349 

whom ail Italian mercenary general, named Piccolomini, 
was the most perfidious and savage. A plot was formed 
against him by certain traitors among his own officers, — 
the names of Devereux, Butler, Gordon, and Leslie, to 
the shame of their nations, appearing in the list. 

On the 25th of February, 1634, an entertainment was 
given to the whole body of officers by Gordon, who 
commanded the castle of Eger, where "Wallenstein was 
residing. He himself being indisposed, had retired from 
the table to his chamber. He was roused by loud cries 
proceeding from the mess-room, where his faithful offi- 
cers were being murdered by the traitors. He opened 
the window to inquire the cause of the disturbance, when 
Devereux entered, with thirty Irishmen at his back. 
The cowards shrank at the sight of their great general, 
standing calm and stern, unarmed, and at their mercy. 
But Devereux, a callous and brutal soldier, in a moment 
stepped forward, and cried : " Art thou the traitor who 
wilt ruin the Empire ? " Wallenstein did not speak, but 
opened his arms, as if to accept the blow whicli was 
aimed at his heart. He was slain at the age of fifty-one. 
His wealth was chiefly shared among his enemies. 

Though undoubtedly ambitious and intriguing, Wal- 
lenstein's alleged treachery to the Emperor, whom he 
kept informed of all his schemes, has never been proved, 
and by many recent historians is divsbelieved. He fell a 
victim to the jealousy of his rivals, which he augmented 
by his own pride. His fall, however, reflects lasting dis- 
grace on the character of the Emperor Ferdinand, and 
was justly avenged by the subsequent humiliation of the 
German Empire. The succeeding narrative of the Thirty 
Years' War belongs to the history of France. 



THE REIGN OF LOUIS XIII. OF FRANCE. 

On the death of Henry IV. of France, in 1610, his 
widow, Maria dei Medici, was appointed Regent, dur- 
ing tlie minority of her son, Louis XIII. She was the 
daughter of tlie Duke of Tuscany, to which rank the 
Medici had now raised themselves. Her character was 
imperious and selfish, and she neglected the country to 
enrich the Court. Her cliief favorite was an Italian, 
named Concini, who rose from the ranks to the highest 
dignities. His upstart arrogance and mistaken policy so 
disgusted the old nobility that the Prince de Conde, who 
was at their head, retired from his courtly attendance, 
and soon appeared as chief of a league against the gov- 
ernment. By timely concessions, the Queen-mother j)re- 
vented an outbreak, and convoked the States- General — 
the greatest assembly of the nation — in 1614. The 
policy which she adopted to shield herself and her favor- 
ite from enforced reforms was to set one estate of the 
realm against another, and thus divide their councils. 
This plan succeeded, and no decision was arrived at by 
the Assembly. 

Among the representatives of the clergy on this occa- 
sion, was the tall and strikingly handsome Arm and John 



CARDINAL RICHELIEU. 351 

dii Plessis Richelieu, Bishop of Lu9on. He was born of 
noble ancestiy at Paris, in 1583, and destined for the 
army ; but an opening to Church preferment occurring, 
by his brother's resignation of the bishopric of Lu^on, 
RicheHeu studied theology, became a Doctor of the Sor- 
bonne at the age of twenty-two, and soon after Bishop. 
He attracted the notice of the Queen-mother at the As- 
sembly just mentioned, who made him her Almoner, from 
wliich post he soon worked his way to yet higher distinc- 
tion. Her disputes with the nobles still continued, and 
a new cause of dissatisfaction was afforded in 1615, by 
the zeal with which she promoted the young King's mar- 
riage with Anne of Austria, the Infanta of Spain, daugh- 
ter of Philip III., — an alliance opposed to the political 
views of the Conde party. After the marriage, how- 
ever, Maria became reconciled with her enemies by the 
treaty of Loudun, in 1616. Conde came into power, but 
the Queen-mother procured the appointment of Richelieu 
as Secretary of State. The new arrangement did not 
work well. Conde and Concini (whom Maria had cre- 
ated Marechal d'Ancre) soon quarrelled, and the young 
King, who now aspired to reign alone, disliked both. 
By his orders, Conde was suddenly arrested on a charge 
of ti'eason, and committed to the Bastile. A worse fate 
was reserved for the now triumphant Marechal. In 
April, 1617, as he was on his way to attend the Council, 
he was stopped by Vitry, Captain of the Royal Guards, 
who demanded his sword, and at the same moment sig- 
nalled to his men to fire. Concini fell instantaneously. 
Louis XIII. openly avowed his sanction of this murder, 
and took the opportunity of declaring himself king. Un- 



352 CARDINAL RICHELIEU. 

der the influence of his favorite, the Due de Luynes, he 
banished his mother to Blois, and appeased the discon- 
tents which her government had excited. E-icheHeu ob- 
tained permission to attend Maria to her retirement, but 
is supposed to have been secretly commissioned by the 
Crown to act as a spy upon her movements. He soon 
distinguished himself by his skilful management of an 
intrigue wliich was set on foot to deliver the Queen- 
mother. She effected her escape by the agency of the 
Due d'Epernon and an Itahan named Rucelai, who placed 
a ladder of ropes at the window of her chateau. The 
King demanded that d'Epernon should be surrendered to 
him, as the price of his mother's freedom from molesta- 
tion at Angouleme, whither she had fled ; but Richelieu, 
by his wise counsels, made peace without this condition 
being enforced. Louis, however, released Conde, and 
restored him to power, as a check on Maria's influence. 
Her partisans, feeling aggrieved, left the Court, and 
threatened hostihties, — d'Epernon and other leaders ad- 
vising her to fortify herself in Guienne. This step, how- 
ever, Richelieu, who was in communication with the 
King, prevailed upon her to reject as imprudent. War 
actually commenced, and Conde defeated the troops of 
the Queen-mother at C^. Richelieu again interfered, 
and made peace. Maria returned to Paris, and the re- 
bellion was put down. As a reward for his treacherous 
deahngs, Richelieu was promised a cardinal's hat. 

He seems to have set before him three main objects in 
his political career, in all of which he succeeded, — the 
humiliation of the Huguenot party, of the nobihty, and 
of the Empire of Germany. To attain these results he 



CAEDINAL EICHELIEU. 353 

spared no time or pains. Having, it is to be feared, really 
I in view only the extension of his own power as a min- 
ister, he contrived to make it appear that he aimed only 
at the extension of his master's power as king. Louis 
never loved him, but found him so necessary that, 
throughout a long political life, Richelieu was scarcely 
j once in serious disfavor. The accomplishment of his 
first object was a work of years ; and some progress had 
been made towards it by others. Beam, where the Hu- 
guenots were in the majority, was restored, in 1620, to 
the Catholic faith, which Jeanne d'Albret had abolished. 
A general league of the party in 1621, for the purpose 
of oro;anizino; an armed force, led to the Catholic invest- 
ment of Rochelle and the siege of Montaubau. The 
failure of the latter was imputed to De Luynes, the 
King's favorite. He died in the same year, and peace 
was then made, the Edict of Nantes being confirmed. 
E-icheheu now obtained the cardinal's hat, which had 
been promised liim, and was soon after admitted, by the 
Prime IVIinister La Vieuville, to the Council. Plere he 
acquired a vast influence over the King's mind, and soon 
stepped into the position of La Vieuville, who was dis- 
graced. 

Now minister, Richelieu governed with a high hand. 
Passing over events which bear upon the success of his 
second great object, we proceed to notice the accomplish- 
ment of the first. After seeming to befriend the Re- 
formed party, by supporting the Protestants of the Swiss 
Orisons against the Catholics of the Yaltelline, with 
whom they were at war, — advocating the marriage of 
the King's sister, Henrietta Maria, with our Charles L, 

w 



354 CARDINAL RICHELIEU. 

and treating with moderation a revolt of the Huguenots 
in 1 625, he took vigorous measures, on the occasion of 
the next outbreak, to crush the whole party. Rochelle, 
the Huguenot stronghold, was fortified by the family of 
E,ohan, the most illustrious Protestant leader in France ; 
and the English sent a fleet under Buckingham to its 
relief. Richelieu himself commanded the attack, and 
displayed as great military as political skill. He cut off 
the besieged from communication with the sea, whence 
they expected supplies of food and ammunition, by the 
construction of a vast mole, half a mile in length and 
sixty feet in breadth. The sea twice carried away the 
works, but he persevered, and completed them. The 
English fleet could not force the passage, and at last 
sailed away, the besieged being reduced to the miseries 
of famine. Their mayor, Guiton, evinced the most he- 
roic courage, declaring that, if but one man remained in 
the city, he should still shut the gates against the foe. 
But when all hope of assistance was gone, the Rochellois 
were constrained to surrender, after a year's resistance. 
Richelieu gave them favorable terms, allowing them the 
exercise of their religious rights, and securing toleration 
by an Edict, in 1 629. As a political party, however, the 
Huguenots were henceforth crushed. 

In the prosecution of his second aim, the humihation 
of the nobles, the Cardinal had to contend with great 
difficulties. Gaston, Due d'Orleans, the King's brother, 
was his chief rival, and had many partisans. Ornano, 
one of these, had been favored by Richelieu, but turned 
against him, advising the Due to marry against the Car- 
dinal's wish. The penalty paid for this advice was Or- 



CARDINAL RICHELIEU. 355 

nano's perpetual imprisonment. Chalais, another friend 
of Gaston, formed a plot, in which the Queen Anne of 
Austria and the Duke of Buckingham were implicated, 
to overthrow the great Cardinal. Among other objects 
of this plot was, it is said, the deposition of Louis, and 
the marriage of Gaston to the Queen. RicheHeu soon 
discovered and revealed it to Louis ; but, with a show of 
humility, offered to resign his post. Unable to govern 
without him, the King gave him the fullest powers to act 
as he thought best. Gaston, accordingly, w^as forced to 
marry Mademoiselle de Montpensier ; Chalais was tried 
and executed for treason ; his mistress, the Duchess de 
Chevi'euse, banished ; and the Queen herself strictly con- 
fined to her own apartments. 

In 1629-30, a war broke out between France and 
the duchy of Savoy, in which Victor Amadeus, then 
duke, and brother-in-law of Louis, was worsted. The 
Queen-mother, who favored her son-in-law, reproached 
Richelieu with this result, and endeavored to procure his 
dismissal ; but he triumphed over her intrigues, — obtain- 
ing her banishment from Court in 1631. She retired to 
Flanders, while Gaston, who espoused her cause, excited 
a rebellion in LoiTaine, where — his wife being dead — 
he made a second marriage with the sister of its duke. 
Richelieu arrested the chief partisans of the rebels in 
France, two of whom, the Marechal de Marillac and the 
Due de Montmorency, with some subordinates, were exe- 
cuted. The Duke of Lorraine lost his possessions ; but 
Gaston, whose character was cowardly and selfish, de- 
serted his mother and his party, made peace with Louis, 
and returned to France. He attempted, at a later period. 



356 CAEDINAL EICHELTEU. 

to have the Cardinal assassinated, but the scheme mis- 
carried through his own hesitation. Other nobles of less 
importance ventured their strength against Richelieu's, 
and equally failed. The Due de Vendome, the King's 
natural brother, was banished, and D'Epernon, the 
Queen-mother's partisan, imprisoned. One last attempt 
to overthrow the powerful Minister may here be men- 
tioned, though it occurred at the close of his career. 
He had placed near the King a young nobleman named 
Cinq-Mars, who, perceiving that the tie between the 
King and the Cardinal was one of fear rather than love, 
schemed to betray his patron. He accordingly leagued 
with the Queen, the Due d'Orleans, and a rival minister, 
the Due de Bouillon. By his spies, Richelieu obtained 
information of the plot, and revealed it to the King, from 
whom he obtained permission to crush it. Cinq-Mars, 
and his friend De Thou, were arrested ; and, on the evi- 
dence of the dastardly Gaston, were condemned and 
executed. He himself escaped and retired into pri- 
vacy ; while the Due de Bouillon lost his possessions as 
a condition of pardon. Richelieu remained triumphant. 
On the occasion of one of Gaston's conspiracies, the 
Parliament ventured to oppose the royal ordinance, de- 
claring his partisans guilty of treason before bringing 
them to trial. Richelieu resolved to humble it also. 
The judges who composed the Parliamentary Court 
were summoned to attend the King, with the record of 
their refusal to sanction the Edict. On their entrance 
into the council room, the record was taken from them, 
and burnt in theii' presence. The chief members of the 
court were then either banished or removed from office. 



CARDINAL RICHELIEU. 357 

The humiliation of the Court of Aids, where the decrees 
for the state expenditure were recorded, soon followed a 
similar act of resistance ; and the foundation of a new 
tribunal for trying political criminals — the members of 
which were appointed by RicheHeu — placed in his hands 
almost absolute power. 

His third aim was to depress the power of Germany, 
the most formidable continental rival of France. To 
achieve this result, he did not scruple to ally himself 
with the Protestants. Gustavus Adolphus, as we have 
seen, was in treaty with him, and received a subsidy to 
prosecute the war. After the death of the Swedish king, 
and his great opponent, Wallenstein, the Thirty Years' 
War was carried on under the leadership of the Arch- 
duke Ferdinand as the Catholic, and the Duke of Wei- 
mar as the Protestant champions. In 1634, the victory 
of Nordlingen over the Swedes, and the peace of Prague, 
by which the Elector of Saxony deserted his party, 
seemed fatal to the Protestant cause. But Richelieu 
gave it his support, — allying himself with the Dutch 
republic, and with the Duke of Weimar in 1635, and 
thus defying both Spain and Austria. In the next cam- 
paign, of 1636, France was invaded by the armies of 
both these powers, and Paris was even threatened ; but 
Richeheu's courage and firmness sustained the nation. 
He aroused the popular enthusiasm, and procured by his 
exertions a powerful army, which forced back the tide 
of invasion. The war was prosecuted with varying suc- 
cess in particular engagements, but with progressive ad- 
vantage to France and Sweden, which, with rival aims, 
formed a close alliance. The gallant Duke of Weimar 



358 CARDINAL RICHELIEU. 

died in 1639, but liis troops were generalled by French 
officers, and led to conquest. The Cardinal did not hve 
to see the successful result of the war, which was termi- 
nated in 1648 by the peace of Westphaha. By this 
important treaty, the religious hberty of Germany was 
secured in the toleration of Lutheranism and Galvanism, 
and the admission of Protestants to the Imperial Cham- 
ber and Auhc Council, — th€ highest pohtical and judi- 
cial courts of the Empire. To this great result the 
policy of Eicheheu, though pursued with a very different 
object, must be held to have mainly contributed. His 
own object was at the same time attamed by the humil- 
iation of the Empire, and the cession of Alsace and 
other important provinces to France, which gave her a 
foothold that she did not fail to employ to her future 
advantage. 

At the height of his success and fame, just after the 
failure of the conspiracy of Cinq-Mars had crowned the 
fall of his enemies, Kicheheu was taken ill, and died on 
the 4th December, 1642, at the age of fifty-eight. On 
his death-bed he sent for the King, whom he assured 
of his constant fidelity, — declaiming that all his pohtical 
schemes had for their aim the glory of France. Louis 
felt reheved at his death, but pronounced his eulogium 
in terms as just as they are brief: — "There is a great 
politician dead ! " 

Richelieu was probably sincere in his assertion that he 
had aimed at the glory of France, but deserves no credit 
for patriotism on that account, since her glory was iden- 
tified with his own. He was virtually king under the 
name of minister, and no government was ever more 



CARDINAL RICHELIEU. 359 

despotic than his. His grasp of mind was immense, 
and whatever he undertook he seemed able to achieve. 
Under his guidance, France attained iui influence in 
Europe superior to that of any other power; and a 
social stability, as potent as any which is attainable by 
a despotic government. Her rivals were permanently 
humbled, and her territories enlarged. The nobles and 
the Parliament were subdued to the will of the Crown ; 
and the pohtical importance of the Reformed faith de- 
stroyed, without the dangers of intolerance being in- 
curred. The national army and navy were placed on 
an increased footing of strength ; literature and the arts 
were encouraged ; and commerce extended. The foun- 
dation of the French Academy in 1635, and the forma- 
tion of the French East India Comiiany in 1642, are 
among the country's debts to his wisdom. 

It is scarcely needful to observe on the utter unscrupu- 
lousness of the great Cardinal, since his whole life is an 
example of it. He did not hesitate to avow the fact, in 
the famous words, — "I dare undertake nothing, without 
having well reflected on it ; but once having taken ray 
resolution, I advance straightforward, — throwing or cut- 
ting down everything in my way, and then covering all 
with my red robe." No portrait could be more faithful. 
Under the red robe — the symbol of his sacred office — 
he cloaked the most unholy ambitions and practices. 
Proud, treacherous, revengeful, and vain, he governed 
men by the weapon of fear only, and probably never 
obtained the love of any human being. It is, perhap.- , 
a redeeming feature in his character, that he was not 
insensible to the fascination of beauty. He was even 



360 CARDINAL RICHELIEU. 

suspected of a secret passion for the Queen ; and a story 
is told of her having endeavored to cure him of it, by 
persuading him to dance before her in a fancy dress, and 
exposing him to her courtiers while in this ludicrous po- 
sition. His weakness on this score at least hnks him 
with his fellow-men ; from whom his towering intellectual 
stature, and lack of moral principle, seem utterly to divide 
him. 



€mk i\t ireai 

THE REIGN OF LOUIS XIV. OF FRANCE. 

Louis XIII. sui-vived his minister only six months ; 
and his widow, Anne of Austria^ was appointed Regent 
of the kingdom during the minority of her son, Louis 
XIV. On his death-bed, Richelieu had named Cardinal 
Mazarm as his successor ; and his wish was confirmed 
by the choice of the Regent. This eminent statesman, 
an Italian by birth, was originally sent to France as 
Ambassador from the Pope ; but having attracted the 
attention of Richelieu by his talent for diplomacy, was 
retained in his service. The new minister carried out 
to the full the pohcy of his predecessor. The Thirty 
Years' War was drawing to a close ; but the later cam- 
paigns were marked by battles scarcely inferior in im- 
portance to any that went before them. 

Among the first events of the reign of Louis XIV. 
was the victory of Rocroy over the Spaniards. The 
hero of the day was Louis, Due d'Enghien, son of the 
Prince de Conde, and a youth of twenty-two. He was 
born at Paris in 1621, and as a boy was noticed by Rich- 
elieu, who predicted his future success. At an early age 
he evinced such miUtary knowledge and abihty, that he 
was intrusted with the command of the royal army in 
16 



362 CONDE THE GREAT. 

Flanders. It amounted to 23,000 men ; and though the 
Spaniards had a larger force, he determined to march to 
the relief of Rocroy, which they were besieging. The 
battle which ensued is one of the most sanguinary on 
record. By three bold charges of his cavalry, D'Enghien 
broke the renowned Spanish infantry, and won the day, 
leaving 8,000 of the enemy dead on the field, — the Comte 
de Fuent^s, their leader, among them, — and taking 6,000 
prisoners. He followed up this success by capturing the 
important town of Thionville. In 1643 the French sus- 
tained a serious defeat at Dutlingen, by the Imperial 
forces under Mercy and other officers. D'Enghien, and 
the Marechal Turenne, son of Richelieu's rival, the Due 
de Bouillon, and an illustrious general, were sent, in 
1644, to retrieve the failing fortunes of the Protestant 
cause. Friburg was besieged by Mercy, and thither the 
French hastened ; but arrived too late to prevent its 
capture. The armies, however, met in the vicinity, and 
a fearful contest ensued. D'Engliien evinced on tliis 
occasion the daring which was the leading feature of his 
character, and the chief element of his glory as a general. 
To animate his men, he threw his commander's baton (or 
staff) into the trenches of the Imperial camp, and vowed 
that, sword in hand, he would recover it. He kept his 
word, after a desperate struggle with the foe. Beth sides 
claimed the victory ; but Mercy testified to his defeat by 
evacuating his position. In the following year Turenne 
was defeated at Mariendahl ; but D'Enghien gained an- 
other victory at Nordlingen, where Mercy was killed. It 
was on the tomb of the latter that was engraved the famous 
inscription, — " Sta, viator : heroem calcas." (Traveller, 
stop ; you tread upon a hero.) 



CONDE THE GREAT. 363 

In 1646 D'Engliien was at Dunkirk, which he reduced 
in sight of the Spanish army that was sent to its rehef. 
His father dying in this year, he became Prince de 
Conde, by which name he is always known in history. 
His last great successes in the Thirty Years' War were 
the capture of Ypres, and the subsequent battle of Lens, 
in 1648. The Archduke Leopold, brother of the Em- 
peror, commanded the united German and Spanish 
armies. Conde s address to his men was brief, but in- 
spiriting : " Soldiers, remember Kocroy, Friburg, and 
JSFordlingen ! " Its effect was shown in the total rout of 
the enemy, with the capture of thirty-eight guns and a 
hundred standards. The peace of Westphaha soon fol- 
lowed this memorable victory. 

Thus far Richelieu's policy was ably carried out by 
his successor, but Mazarin drew upon himself deserved 
odium by his unjust methods of recruiting the State 
exchequer, especially the sale of offices, and the prohibi- 
tion of building beyond certain limits. The Parliament 
at last refused to sanction these monstrous edicts, and, on 
the arrest of two of its most factious members, the people 
of Paris rose in revolt. The party opposed to the Gov- 
ernment was known as the Fronde (from froiider, to cen- 
sure), and its head was the turbulent De Petz, after- 
wards Cardinal. The Regent, at the tidings of outbreak, 
fled to St. Germain, where she was reduced to consider- 
able privations by the withholding of her revenues. 
Conde, on his return after the peace, at once took up her 
cause, but Turenne allied himself to the Fronde. Paris 
was besieged by the former, and soon gave way ; peace 
being made in 1 649, and the old order of affairs restored. 



364 CONDE THE GREAT. 

Conde and Mazarin, however, who both aspired to inde- 
pendence, soon quarrelled. The former veered between 
the Government and the Fronde, but made himself un- 
popular to both parties by his haughty temper; the 
latter determined to avail himself of this fact, and silence 
all opposition. Conde, and two of his relatives, were 
seized and imprisoned, in January, 1650. Tliis bold 
step failed to secure the minister's safety. The discon- 
tent of the nobihty and people at last became so great 
that the Regent was forced to release Conde and his rela- 
tives, and dismiss Mazarin, who retired to Cologne in dis- 
grace. Conde was now in power, but misused it. His 
contemptuous treatment of the Queen induced her to 
apply to De Retz, who was ready for any scheme that 
promised to advance himself He readily hitrigued to 
procure Conde's downfall, and succeeded in leaguing the 
Fronde and the Parliament against him. The Prince 
left Paris, and retired to Guienne, where he negotiated 
with Spain (which still remained hostile to France) for 
assistance. The Regent made peace with Turenne, 
whose services she needed, and recalled Mazarin, who 
became as powerful as before. 

Civil war now commenced in earnest. Cond4 was 
joined by the ever-intriguing Due d'Orleans, who emerged 
from liis obscurity, sent him a body of troops under the 
Due de Nemours, and despatched Mademoiselle de 
Montpensier, his own daughter, to secure Orleans. Tu- 
renne was defeated at Blenau in 1652, but pursued 
Conde in his march to Paris, and contested its possession 
with him. The adroitness of Gaston's daughter, who 
made her way to Paris, and won over the city author- 



CONDE THE GREAT. 3G5 

itics to Condi's side, secured his success. After a variety 
of minor events, the war terminated by the Regent's con- 
senting to banish Mazarin. The fickle Parisians now 
deserted Conde also, and forced him to quit the city, 
^vllcnce he departed to Flanders. The wily De Retz 
was for a time in power, but, being discovered to be 
inij)licated in a conspiracy, was soon afterwards im- 
prisoned. Louis XIV., now of age to govern, was re- 
ceived with joy by the nation. He soon signalized his 
possession of power by recalling Mazarin, whom, with 
their usual instability of sentiment, the Parisians were 
delighted to welcome. The Cai'dinal speedily procured 
the condemnation of Conde as a traitor. In the war 
which ensued, the latter appeared as the Spanish leader. 
Turenne commanded the royal army, and the campaign 
(jf 1654 was favorable to the French. Conde, however, 
displayed masterly skill, even under disadvantageous cir- 
cumstances, and his retreat from Arras, the siege of 
which Turenne obliged him to raise, was as brilhant as 
many a victory. In the next campaign, of 1656-7, 
which was also fought in Flanders, Turenne quitted the 
defensive position which he had hitherto held, but was 
defeated by Conde, who rewon his laurels by forcing the 
French to raise the siege of Valenciennes. England 
now made her influence felt in this continental war. The 
illustrious Cromwell was at the head of her councils, and 
found it necessary to combat the exertions which the two 
sons of Charles I. were making to procure aid from 
France. His aUiance was sought by Spain also, but he 
gave it to Mazarin, on the conditions, that the Stuart cause 
should be abandoned, and, that if Dunkirk were taken by 



366 CONDE THE GREAT. 

the French it should be ceded to England. These terms 
being agreed on, Cromwell sent a fleet and 6,000 soldiers. 
Charles and James then left the camp of Turenne for 
that of Conde. The Prince was defeated near Dunkirk 
in 1658, and the city was surrendered to England. 

Philip IV. of Spain was now weary of the war, and 
opened negotiations for peace. Mazarin, on this occa- 
sion, displayed remarkable acuteness, and the Peace of 
the Pyrenees (or Bidasoa), signed in November 1659, is 
one of his most memorable achievements. By it, Rous- 
sillon, Pignerol, and Alsace, were yielded to France, to- 
gether with many towns in Flanders. The submission 
of Conde was one of the conditions of peace, and Louis, 
who recognized his value, restored him to his full honors. 
Tlie marriage of the King Avith Maria Theresa of Aus- 
tria, daughter of the King of Spain, happily concluded 
this war. 

The death of the astute and unprincipled Mazarin, in 
1661, relieved Conde of a dangerous antagonist, and 
Louis of a nominal servant, but a real master. The 
young Kmg henceforth governed alone, making choice of 
able men, such as Colbert and Louvois, but using them 
as instruments of his own will. There is a considerable 
fascination about the character and career of Louis XIV. ; 
but the splendid bubble breaks when handled. He was 
dignified, affable, and generous, and possessed great firm- 
ness and political sagacity ; but an overriding selfishness 
perverted his quahties of heart and mind to the most im- 
moral ends. " L'etat c'est moi " was his motto, and his 
whole reign was its illustration. To exalt his own glory as 
" le Grand Monarque," he degraded the independent spirit 



CONDE THE GREAT. 367 

K>f his nobles by lavishing honors upon them ; flattered 
the people by his superb state, but yet despised and op- 
pressed them ; subdued the Parliament into a mere echo 
of his will ; persecuted the Protestants, but at the same 
time opposed the exacting spirit of the Papacy; and 
abroad, rendered himself formidable by unjust aggressions 
upon all States, both free and despotic, which presumed 
to compete with or resist him. His extension of com- 
merce, and patronage of hterature and art, were means 
to the same end, rather than patriotic labors; and he 
must be regarded only as the creator of a magnificent 
despotism, which culminated long before Ms death, and 
of which the next century attested the insecurity. While 
it lasted, however, the illusion was gorgeous. Conde, 
from his restoration to power to the close of his life, was 
a main instrument of his master's glory abroad. The 
humihation of Spain was his first achievement. On the 
death of Philip IV., in 1665, leaving a son, Charles II., 
under age, Louis laid claim to the territory of Flanders 
in right of his wife, the elder child of the late kmg. The 
claim was unfounded, as the law of Brabant, giving 
daughters the preference to younger sons, in ordinary 
cases of descent, — upon which he professed to rely, — 
had no bearing upon the succession to the cro^vn. The 
Emperor Leopold of Germany, however, supported 
France. Flanders was partially conquered by Turenne, 
but Brussels and Antwerp resisted him successfully. The 
brilliant feature of the war was due to Conde, who, in the 
space of a fortnight, invaded and made himself master of 
the provmce of Franche-Comte. 

Alai'med, however, at these successes, England, Hoi- 



368 CONDE THE GEEAT. 

land, and Sweden, formed a league against France in 
1688, tlie originator of which was William of Orange, 
afterwards so memorable as our greatest English King. 
Louis concluded peace at Aix-la-Chapelle in the same 
year, — retaining Flanders, but surrendering Franche- 
Comte. He was much incensed against Holland for its 
interference, and resolved on vengeance. He found a 
frivolous pretext for war in 1672; and Conde and Tu- 
renne led his armies. The capture of Wesel was the 
former's first success, only outshone by his famous pas- 
sage of the Rhine in sight of the enemy. Here he was 
wounded, and obliged to surrender the chief command to 
Turenne. The Dutch, under William of Orange, made 
the most heroic resistance to the demands of Louis, who 
aimed at the annihilation of their republican form of gov- 
ernment and Protestant faith. The two De Witts, who, 
as Grand Pensionary and Admiral, had served Holland 
faithfully, were torn to pieces by the people, on suspicion 
of being in communication with France. The dykes 
were cut through, and the country was flooded, with the 
hope of expelling the invaders. This gallant opposition 
at last moved Europe to decide against Louis, — Ger- 
many, Spain, and the Elector of Brandenburg leaguing 
against him. England, which had given him naval as- 
sistance, withdrew it also. The .King, however, was not 
discouraged. Franche-Comte was again invaded, and 
overcome in six weeks. At Senef, in Flanders, in 1674, 
Conde gave battle to Wilham of Orange. For fourteen 
hours the two armies contested the field, — Condd having 
three horses killed under him. The enormous number 
of 27,000 men is said to have been the united loss on this 



CONDE THE GREAT. 369 

occasion. The great French commander met with his 
match in the youthful Prince of Orange, whose courage 
in rallying his men, after the day seemed lost, prevented 
the French from obtaining more than a doubtful victory. 
Conde then relieved Oudenarde ; but in the following 
year (1675) was called into Alsace, to take the head of 
Turenne's army, — that great general, after a victorious 
campaign against the German forces, having been killed 
by a stray cannon-ball near Saltzbach, in Baden. Conde 
finally compelled Montecuculli, the German commander, 
to evacuate Alsace. This was the Prince's last cam- 
paign ; ill-health compelling him to retire from military 
command. He lived to see the successful close of the 
war, which terminated in 1678, by the peace of Nime- 
guen. Holland was weakened, and Spain lost Franche- 
Comte and several towns in the Netherlands, of which, 
together with Alsace, France obtained possession. 

Conde retired to his princely estate of Chantilly, where 
he lived in much splendor, surrounded by men of letters, 
— among w^h.om Racine and Boileau were prominent, — 
until his death, in 1686. He obtained the name of ^'the 
Great " for his mihtary prowess, and deservedly, but can- 
not be praised for any other greatness. Like his master, 
lie seems to have been governed throughout his career 
by selfish motives only, joining the Government or the 
Fronde, France or Spain,*as it best suited his own ambi- 
tion and pride. We have selected him as the hero of his 
age, because of his prominence both as a general and 
politician. His campaigns especially illustrate the na- 
ture of the means by which Louis XIV. made himself 
formidable. 

X 



370 CONDE THE GREAT. 

Conde is the last hero whose name belongs to the sev- 
enteenth century. With the foregoing sketch of his ca- 
reer terminates this biographical outhne of the history of 
Europe, during the millennium that elapsed between the 
eighth and eighteenth centuries. A new period of his- 
tory then opens. France falls from the pinnacle of her 
power ; and England, which for centuries had scarcely 
interfered in foreign politics, — having recently achieved 
domestic freedom, — is the agent of her rival's downfall, 
and the architect of her own continental reputation. 
Spain, though strengthening her position in Italy, grad- 
ually sinks into the national insignificance in which she 
at present appears ; while the sudden rise of three new 
States into importance weakens and represses the power 
of Germany. Eussia, till then scarcely known beyond 
the limits of its own territories, becomes, under the pol- 
icy of Peter the Great, an organized and aggressive des- 
potism ; while Prussia and Savoy, elevated into king- 
doms, oppose an armed barrier north and south. Italy 
— a helpless prey to her invaders — scarcely evinces, 
save m the direction last named, a trace of life. Thus 
is estabhshed that " balance of power " in Europe, which 
all the storms of the succeeding century and a half have 
not materially or permanently disturbed. 



THE END. 



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vol. 


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